#modern? 2020s? or some other nearby time period?

[petitsdieu]

* ☔ : 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑭𝑨𝑵𝑻𝑨𝑺𝒀, 𝑵𝑶𝑩𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑻𝒀, 𝑬𝑻𝑪. — card of winter. sender finds the receiver dying of frostbite and gathers them in their arms to warm them. (russian mafia/whatever viggo. *esp if 'princess' hara is also from a wealthy/powerful family here, too. pre-bodyguard shit.)

There's more kindness in a nervous system than Russia's wintering expanse. In Saint Petersburg's regnant head as a husband. In whatever pawn pieces that follow in his line. She can hardly see fault in the blinded devouts. She had viewed him through her rose glint when she was in the Spring of her Womanhood. Spring dies here.

The latter half of her marriage had backslid her into a parasympathetic, sleeper state. She had been mid-flight when she broke through the ice. Felt the pin-prick of needle death falling upon every inch of her body. It curves off her from the first warmth she's felt since she's left France.

Viggo is hot balm in the bed of snow. Her cheek melts against some place where he's soft. If she could hug back she would. She can't even bend on elbow.

❛ Don't take me to a hospital, Viggo⸺ ❜

Things get lost in the burr upper chap lip, shivering out, in the fill-in-the-blanks tremble.

❛ I don't want to go back to him. ❜

𝒇𝒕. @nightmarefuele

[sweetsmellosuccess]

The Best Films of 2020

The 15 Best Films of 2020

Normally, when I assess a full year of cinematic offerings, I consider both sides of that coin  —  the outstanding entities, and the least successful —  but the year of our lord two thousand and twenty provided more than enough misery for all of us, I do believe. Ergo, in my own small way to bring better vibes into the universe, for this year’s round-up, I’m staying solely on the positive tip, highlighting those films whose unfortunate release date during the Year of the Hex shouldn’t preclude them for being fully appreciated. Let’s take a year off from negativity and schadenfreude, shall we, and just stroll amongst the poppies and bright sunshine of some of the best releases of the year.  

15. The Invisible Man

“Leigh Whannell’s film is thoroughly modern in approach and sophistication, but the film it most reminded me of was made back in 1944. George Cukor’s Gaslight starred Charles Boyer as a loathsome husband who attempts to convince his already anxious wife (Ingrid Bergman) that she’s going insane by secretly rearranging things in their house and taking things from her so she thinks she’s always misplacing them. He preys on her emotional vulnerability in order to mask his own pathology and emotional detachment. The effect is absolutely enraging: Onscreen, he’s one of the more hateful villains ever committed to celluloid.”

Full Review

14. The Killing of Two Lovers

“From the opening sequence, with a distraught, estranged husband standing over the bed of his wife and her new boyfriend with malice in his heart, and a gun in hand, the film spirals out into incredibly well structured compositions, taking us inside and outside of David’s recurring psychosis, utilizing a bevy of techniques: The framing shrinks down around him, the sound gets muffled, as if underwater, save for the incredibly unnerving metallic sound of cables being stretched taut, and the sickening kathunk of a heavy car door slamming shut.”

Capsule Review

13. Another Round

“Typically, Vinterberg avoids simple conclusions  —  and God help us all if this film gets picked up by a U.S. studio and remade with, say, Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, and Chris Rock  —  providing more or less equal examples of the delirious fun drinking with your friends can be (the film opens with a group of high schoolers gleefully doing “lake races” whereby teams compete to drink a case of beer while running around the nearby body of water; and closes with the same teen crew, and some of their teachers, whooping it up in celebrating their graduation); and the horrorshow it can become (one teacher ends up peeing the bed, and on his wife in the process, another wakes up bloodied and out of it in front of his neighbor’s house), leading to very real and horrible consequences.”

Capsule Review

12. Soul

“Co-director Pete Docter is the creative force behind many of Pixar's best titles, having a hand in the Toy Story franchise, WALL-E, Up, and also directing Inside Out, a brilliantly moving treatise on the subject of emotional upheaval. This film, which he co-wrote and made along with fellow co-director Kemp Powers, is his first film back at the helm since that high-water mark, and he has again dug into the fertile earth of our mortality and come back with a particularly vibrant crop.”

Full Review

11. The Burnt Orange Heresy

“Based on the novel by Charles Willeford, the film briskly moves through its paces, clouding the waters with the schemes of duplicitous men, who have sold out any love of art for their greater obsession of cash and prestige. A literary thriller in the vein of The Talented Mr. Ripley, it’s become a genre all too rare in the era of blockbuster bravado. This film will remind you what a mistake that is.”

Full Review

10. Lovers Rock

“In the course of the party, the fuses blow while the house DJ is spinning Janet Kay's "Silly Games," a fan favorite at the time. Undaunted, the guests continue dancing away, singing the lyrics a capella in delirious unison, as McQueen's camera swirls around the living room as if nothing happened. Such a heartfelt moment of unbridled togetherness, putting into distinct bas relief the sense of community we've been denied as a species in 2020, feels like a benediction, an epitaph for the year, and a salve for what we've all been so desperately missing.”

Capsule Review

9. Time

“Ostensibly, it’s about the strain of incarceration on even the most grounded of families (an experience naturally disproportionate for POCs); but, on a deeper level, it’s also about the manner of our use of the limited number of revolutions we get to enjoy situated on this earth. It is a profound knock-out.”

Full Review

8. New Order

“Meet the new boss, only in Michel Franco’s damning portrait of a society locked forever in cycles of oppression, revolution, and new oppression, it makes no difference who you are, what your belief system is, or whether or not you subscribe to a moral set of ethics.”

Capsule Review

7. Dick Johnson is Dead

“Utilizing stunt people and special effects, Johnson kills her father off a number of different gruesome ways, as a means of softening the blow of actually losing him as his mind slowly slips away. This eventually culminates in a final gambit, both acutely painful and deeply moving, in which our sense of things gets seriously upended. As Johnson put it during the post-screening Q&A, the film serves as a “doomed experiment trying to keep my father alive forever.” This film won’t make him immortal, alas, but it does make him indelible.”

Capsule Review

6. Martin Eden

“Marcello packs the film with offbeat bits and pieces of other films, including strips of what appear to be vintage home movies, sometimes in juxtaposition to what Martin is feeling  —  a group of kids swinging wildly from the bar of a fence, to a full galley ship taking in water and suddenly sinking like an iron ingot – which adds a more winsome, timeless element to the narrative. It’s clearly set in the past, but avoids being too dependent on that particular sense of place and time. Martin is a young man, at first, just coming into himself, and the actions he takes, what he goes through, the film seems to suggest, would be similar in any age.”

Full Review

5. Minari

“The film is certainly charming, but that’s not to diminish its straightforward approach to its characters’ plight. It doesn’t shy away from their difficulties, and as a result, it doesn’t cheat towards smarmy emotional closure.”

Capsule Review

4. Collective

“The breath of hope in the film, when the inept Minister of Health resigns, leading to the placing of a new, emboldened director who works quickly to clean the quagmire left by his predecessors, is just as quickly expelled after the next round of elections, in which the Social Democrat party  —  the very ones in charge of this catastrophe in the first place  —  gets re-elected with an even greater majority than what they had before. A perfect reflection of what happens when a government is allowed to exist without any meaningful oversight, other than from a bedraggled press and a disenchanted electorate.”

Full Review

3. First Cow

“Reichardt, a naturalist at heart, is not known much as a humorist, but there is a lightness to her screenplay -- co-written by Jonathan Raymond, her frequent collaborator, who wrote the original novel upon which its based -- that keeps it as sweetly airy as one of Cookie's fried confections. The two friends are so out of step with their surroundings -- the party of men Cookie initially travels with are little more than brutish thugs, and the fort upon which they end up is no better -- they almost had to find each other. They are reunited in the local bar of the fort only because literally every other patron runs out to egg on a brawl between two loutish combatants.”

Full Review

2. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

“Hittman’s eye for detail and emotional complexity  —  her characters can rarely articulate anything they’re experiencing  —  is incredibly acute, and she pulls tremendously understated performances out of her two leads.”

Capsule Review

1. Nomadland

“Perhaps no American director since Terrance Malick has made more of the collapsing light of dusk and twilight than Chloe Zhao. Much of her new film, which stars Frances McDormand as a transigent woman (“not homeless, houseless”), who traverses back and forth across the west in her beat up live-in van, doing seasonal work, takes place in that particular kind of vibrant half-darkness that shrouds the desert and its mountains with a magic kind of mystery.”

Capsule Review

Other Worthy Mentions: 7500; Assassins; Bacurau; Beanpole; Beginning; Black Bear; Bloody Nose Empty Pockets; Boys State; Come Play; Emma; Gunda; His House; Horse Girl; I Am Greta; Jacinta; La Llorona; Let Him Go; Limbo; Mangrove; Mayor; MLK/FBI; One Night in Miami…; Palm Springs; Possessor Uncut; Red, White & Blue; Relic; She Dies Tomorrow; Shirley; Shithouse; Shiva Baby; Some Kind of Heaven; Spring Blossom; Swallow; Tenet; The Dissident; The Invisible Man; The Nest; Sound of Metal; The Vast of Night; The Viewing Booth; The Way I See It; Vitalina Varella; Welcome to Chechnya

Inexplicably Underrated: 7500; Shithouse

Biggest Welcome Surprise(s): The Vast of Night; His House; She Dies Tomorrow

The Best Two Films I Saw This Year, Period: Satantango (1994); Harlan County, USA (1976)

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

Archaeological Adventures in Egypt

Hello! I am Dr. Lisa Saladino Haney, Assistant Curator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and resident Egyptologist. An Egyptologist is someone who studies the history, material culture, architecture, religion, and writing of the ancient Egyptians – one of the ancient cultural groups living in Africa’s Nile Valley. Learning about ancient cultures helps us to better understand the world today and to appreciate the creativity and ingenuity of people who lived thousands of years ago. Archaeology is one technique that allows us to interact with and study the past and there are hundreds of archaeological sites and projects throughout the Nile Valley that constantly add to our understanding of what life was like.

Trying to determine some of my favorite archaeological sites from my travels in Egypt turned out to be an impossible task! Please join me on this photo exploration of a few of the many interesting archaeological sites in Egypt and learn where you can find more information about active archaeological excavations and other projects going on in those areas.

Saqqara

Saqqara is an important cemetery site associated with the ancient Egyptian capital city of Memphis, near modern Cairo. The cemeteries at Saqqara contain a number of tombs, both royal and private, including the famous Step Pyramid of the Third Dynasty Egyptian king, Djoser (ca. 2630-2611 BCE). The earliest burials at the site date to the creation of the ancient Egyptian state and it remained an important site through the Graeco-Roman Period.

Royal Tombs: The Step Pyramid of Djoser

The Step Pyramid of Djoser marks an important step in the development of the pyramid-shaped royal tomb. The complex was designed by the famous royal architect Imhotep, who would later become deified in ancient Egypt. You can see a bronze statue of Imhotep in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt. A 14-year long restoration project at the site was just completed in 2020 which included strengthening the overall integrity of the structure by filling in gaps in its six rectangular mastabas as well work on the interior burial chamber and passages of the pyramid.

Check out some pictures from my visit to the Step Pyramid in 2011, early on in the restoration process, or, for a gallery of photos and more on the newly completed restoration, click here.

Views of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara showing the scaffolding used for the restoration project (photos by author).

Old Kingdom Mastabas: Tombs of Kagemni and Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep

The Old Kingdom (ca. 2649-2150 BCE) mastabas at Saqqara are some of the most beautifully preserved and decorated tombs. Here are two of my favorites from my last visit. The tomb of Kagemni is the largest mastaba in the cemetery associated with the reign of the Sixth Dynasty king Teti (ca. 2323-2150 BCE). Kagemni was a Vizier, the highest position in the royal administration.

The tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhoptep, also known as the tomb of the two brothers, dates to the late Fifth Dynasty and contains a number of exceptional scenes that underscore the closeness of the two men, both of whom served as overseers of the royal manicurists. Archaeologists uncovered a number of blocks from the tomb’s entrance repurposed in the nearby causeway of the pyramid complex of the late Fifth Dynasty king Unas (ca. 2353-2323 BCE). Thanks to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, you can now go on a virtual tour of the tomb!

Here you see the names of the two tomb owners, Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep on a stone doorway inside their tomb as well the exterior of the mastaba (photos by author).

Scenes depicting Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep inside their tomb (photos by author).

Images from the Tomb of Kagemni at Saqqara depicting the tomb owner himself, a parade of offering bearers bringing animals, plants, food, and other supplies to the deceased, and a scene taking place on the Nile where we get an underwater view of a crocodile eating a fish (photos by author).

Beni Hasan

Beni Hasan is a cemetery site located in Middle Egypt, near the modern city of Minya, that was important during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030-1640 BCE). During that time some of the most elite Egyptians were buried on the escarpment (desert cliff) with one of the most beautiful views of Nile Valley around! For more on excavations at Beni Hasan in the early 1900s visit the Griffith Institute and for a virtual tour of the tomb of Kheti at Beni Hasan visit the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Top: A row of tomb entrances in the cliff face at Beni Hasan (photo by author). Middle: Image of the Nomarch Khnumhotep II fishing and fowling in his tomb (photo by author). Bottom: View of the Nile Valley from the tombs at Beni Hasan (photo by author).

Karnak

Karnak temple complex is one of the largest religious sites in the world. The first temple at the site was built during the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030-1640 BCE) and the complex grew in size and complexity over time. The main temple at Karnak is dedicated to the Egyptian god Amun-Re, but there are smaller temples dedicated to Mut, Khonsu, and others. See if you can spot the snoozing pups in the pics below!

There are a number of ongoing excavations at Karnak that you can explore to learn more about the site. Check out this amazing minicourse on the Karnak Mut Precinct available on YouTube with Dr. Betsy Bryan, Alexander Badawy Chair of Egyptian Art and Archaeology and Director of Johns Hopkins’ excavations at the Mut Precinct.

Approach to Karnak Temple and processional way lined with Ram-headed sphinxes for the god Amun-Re (photos by author).

Sleepy Karnak pups (photos by author).

Inside Karnak Temple: Festival Hall of Thutmose III, Obelisks, exit towards the Sacred Lake, columns in the Hypostyle Hall (photos by author).

Lisa Saladino Haney is Postdoctoral Assistant Curator of Egypt on the Nile at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

[pastelsandpining]

Christmas Wrappings (Missed Connections)

The tenth prompt in 12 Days of Christmas by @zelink-prompts​, a sequel to prompt #4, Broken Heart

Prompt List

Words: 3072

Summary: Zelda attends Kakariko Village’s Hylia’s Day Celebration with her roommates, and Link shows up to join in on the fun.

Warnings: second hand embarrassment probably, statements such as “contemplated jumping into the nearest pond”

BotW Modern AU

Zelink-mas 2020  l  Masterlist 

A semester had passed by in the blink of an eye.

Well, that wasn’t very accurate. There were periods of time where the semester felt like it was just crawling, and there were times she became so overwhelmed with her work that she considered dropping out. But she loved her work with Sheikah technology, and she was at the top of nearly every class, and she loved the group of friends she’d made at Akkala Technical University, so she pushed through to the end. 

Three of those close friends were Sheikah, which was incredibly helpful whenever she got stuck on a research paper or a lab. Two of those Sheikah friends were also her roommates, which meant she had help at all times. It also meant that she would be begging them all to come visit over the winter break.

That went both ways, of course. So when Impa and Purah demanded that Zelda come spend a week with them in Kakariko for the Hylia’s Day celebration, she couldn’t say no.

The village was quaint and Zelda fell in love with it immediately. Winter break or not, she could learn so much from just being around so many Sheikah. She was excited, to say the least. 

Her phone vibrating in her pocket broke her moment of peace. She fished it out of her pocket and frowned. That slap of guilt had never left, which she was kindly reminded of every time she saw his name pop up on the screen.

[Hey, are you coming back to Castle Town for the break?]

Zelda took a breath and debated throwing her phone into the nearest pond. It was complicated. She tried ghosting him in the first few weeks of the semester, but that hurt more than talking to him did. So she chickened out of it with some lame excuse and decided to stay frustrated with herself for her stupid choices for the rest of time. 

[I’m in Kakariko with some roommates for Hylia’s Day, but I’ll be back home in a week] she replied. His response was almost immediate.

[I’m in Hateno! You should come visit :)]

Goddesses, he was still annoyingly adorable. It was a good thing she was way past crying, or she’d be sniffling. 

[Why don’t you make your way up here, lazy bones?]

[Is that an official invite? :D]

Zelda bit her lip and glanced around her, as if someone would be watching her mistakes over her shoulder. She still hadn’t entered the village yet. It wasn’t too late to book it to Castle Town and then revoke the playful invite. 

[If you can make it here, then yes :)]

“Who’s got your nose glued to that phone?”

She jumped, sending her phone flying out of her hands and into a nearby bush. Of course, Purah doubled over in laughter as she went to fetch it.

“Purah!” Zelda exclaimed, just barely keeping herself from stomping like a child.

“Sorry,” Purah replied once she’d gained her breath back. But she wasn’t sorry at all. “Ugh, Link is still bothering you?”

“He’s not a bother,” Zelda defended, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Really? Because you told me you were over him.”

“That.. well, uh, might’ve been a teensy lie.”

Purah stared at her with what could only be described as a I-Shouldn’t-Be-Surprised-Because-You’re-That-Obvious-But-I’m-Disappointed-Anyway look and Zelda looked at anything but her roommate. 

“You invited him over?!”

“I panicked!”

“How on Hylia’s green Hyrule you are the highest placing student at Akkala Tech is beyond me. Do you need a 101 in how to avoid ex boyfriends?”

“I don’t want to avoid him,” Zelda argued, but this conversation was going to take a turn if she didn’t stop it. “Where’s Impa?”

“She’s getting stuff ready at the house, but don’t think this is over because I’ll drag her into it too,” Purah warned as she linked an arm through hers and tugged her into the village.

“I’ll just tell him nevermind! It’s a girls week, right?”

Purah huffed and gave her another tug.

“Cherry’s coming at the end of the week and wherever Cherry goes, Robbie goes. So, no, not girls week.”

Zelda almost laughed. Seeing Robbie again was going to be interesting, but she was excited for it. A week away from home with some of her favorite people in all of Hyrule, what was not to love? 

Purah took her to the largest house in the little village, and her excitement rose. 

“You’re here!” exclaimed Impa when the door swung open. Zelda ripped her arm free from Purah’s hold so that she could hug her best friend.

“I love your house!” Zelda replied, looking around with wide eyes. “I’d stay here forever if I could.”

“We’re just getting started.”

It took less than ten minutes for Zelda to get settled in with the girls, and even less time for her to end up being scolded by both Sheikah sisters.

“Look at his photo,” Purah said, handing the phone off to Impa. 

“And you let him go?” Impa asked incredulously as she looked up with wide eyes. Zelda felt like she was being interrogated.

“It’s complicated,” she defended, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well, let me uncomplicate it.” Purah plucked the phone from Impa’s hands and Zelda nearly tackled her when she started typing.

“What are you doing?!” 

“Helping you.”

When Zelda managed to wrestle her phone back to herself, Purah had already done the damage.

[Check it, it’s Z’s roommate. Come down any time ;) She’s gotta talk to you]

“Why?!” Zelda exclaimed, throwing the phone onto the nearest pillow so she didn’t have to see his response. 

“Because you’re helpless!”

She looked to Impa for help, but Impa only shrugged.

“It’s for your own good, Z.”

Needless to say, day one of her trip to Kakariko didn’t go as planned. 

The rest of the week went rather swimmingly compared to that. Zelda was coaxed into playing countless games with the village children, which was absolutely fascinating. They were so lively and intelligent. She remembered when she was like that, young and full of life before college sucked it right out of her. 

Impa took her all over Kakariko, and then out to Goponga Village up in Lanayru Wetlands, and to Deya Village for a tour of places she’d never seen. The people were incredibly kind to her, and she was having more fun than she had when they were confined to the campus of their university. 

It almost took her mind off of things entirely. 

And Hylia’s Day came quickly. She spent it hanging up lights with Impa and Purah, watching a few other Sheikah return from the woods with game for the feast. Music was pouring from one corner, and Zelda scampered her way out of a dance with a poet by hiding behind Robbie—who’d arrived with Cherry for the celebration.

It was so different from how they celebrated in Castle Town, which was more of a carnival that lasted over a span of days. This was quieter, more personal, which made sense given the Sheikah were people of Hylia. It felt so much more intimate and real, and Zelda loved it. She wasn’t a diehard believer, but she respected it. During the opening prayer, facing the statue of the goddess, she even felt a sort of soft connection. 

And then the festivities really kicked up. Zelda was almost ready to lose herself in the fun with her roommates, but in the process of searching for Purah with Impa, she ran into a very familiar face. Quite literally. 

She scrambled backwards, grabbing onto Impa’s arm so she didn’t lose her footing.

“Hey,” Link said, giving her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Hey,” she stuttered in return. 

“Hey,” Impa input with an awkward wave. Zelda laughed just as awkwardly in an attempt to snap herself out of it.

“Um, Link, this is my roommate Impa. Impa, this is Link.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Impa said. Zelda resisted the urge to crawl under a rock and stay there forever. 

“All good things, I hope,” Link replied with a laugh, glancing over at her. Zelda laughed again, just as awkward as the first. 

“Totally. You’re welcome to join us for the festivities. There’s enough food to go around.” With that, Impa turned and continued her search for her sister. The crowd wasn’t that big, but Purah could be quite the escape artist when she wanted to be.

Zelda followed, falling into step with Link. She tried not to look at him too much. College hadn’t changed him at all, so he was just as, well.. Link as he was before. But she didn’t want the awkward and tense air to suffocate her, so she fiddled with her fingers and spoke again.

“So, um, is Hateno celebrating too?” 

“Not like this. It’s more of an individual family thing,” he replied.

“It’s fascinating how everyone celebrates differently. What.. what made you decide to come up to Kakariko?”

“Well, you and your roommate invited me over and it’d just be rude to refuse.”

She made the mistake of looking over at him, and he smiled at her again. Zelda fought back her own smile and stuck her hands into her pockets.

“How’s.. life?” she asked, and tried not to visibly cringe.

“It’s okay,” Link answered with a shrug. “I see we both survived the first semester.”

“Barely,” Zelda corrected, glancing at Impa ahead of them. “If it weren’t for my roommates, I don’t think I-“

“Hold that thought, Z. Robbie incoming,” Impa warned. She hardly had time to brace herself before the eccentric genius was in front of them, and he’d dragged Purah and Cherry with him.

“Ah, there’s the rest of my entourage. What’s up, pretty ladies?” he greeted, wrestling to keep Purah under his arm.

“I thought you were supposed to be keeping him reigned in,” Impa said, setting her hands on her hips as she looked at Cherry.

“There’s no reigning in a party animal,” Robbie defended as Purah broke free of his grasp.

“Right,” Purah replied with an eyeroll. “Because a party animal passes out in our dorm at midnight after living off of energy drinks for forty-two hours.”

Robbie gave her a finger gun and clicked his tongue, and Zelda considered using this as an escape. But if she did escape, she wouldn’t have her friends to cover for her if Link decided to try talking.

“Um, these are my friends,” she told him, gesturing to the mess. “Purah, Cherry, and Robbie.”

“So this is the ex boyfriend, huh?” Purah asked as she lit up and circled him like a predator.

“That would be me, yes,” Link replied sheepishly.

“Again, I don’t know how you’re the top of your class, Z. 

“Can we not insult my bad decisions?” Zelda asked with her hands on her hips.

“Not a chance,” Purah answered. “You’re just lucky the feast is about to start.”

“Thank Hylia,” Zelda muttered and followed after the chattering group.

“They seem nice,” Link said, nodding ahead of them.

“And genius,” she added. “Sometimes, next to them I feel extremely ordinary.”

“There’s nothing ordinary about you, Zel,” he replied. Zelda averted her gaze and laughed.

“Of course you would say that.”

“The truth?”

She shook her head with another smile, sticking her hands back into her pockets. In the middle of the village, a row of tables had been pushed together to form a banquet table that spanned the length of the place. Zelda took her seat besides Impa, and Link besides her, and then the feast really began.

“Have you learned any new recipes?” she asked curiously as they ate.

“Yeah, actually. I’ve started putting together a cookbook so I can always reference them.”

“Very smart. I don’t suppose you live off of microwaved noodles then.”

Link smiled and replied, “Sometimes.” 

She could admit to herself, and preferably only herself, that she’d missed this. Talking to him, hanging out with him, it was part of her routine schedule and she didn’t realize that until she wasn’t texting him and calling him and meeting up for whatever silly activities they'd planned for the day.

And so far, despite how awkward she felt, it wasn’t going horribly. It could’ve been a lot worse. Like, goddesses, what would she have done if he’d appeared with another girl? Okay, no, she knew better than that. He wouldn’t do that to her. But did he have—

Why did she care oh goddesses Zelda get it together if you’re gonna spend Hylia’s Day thinking about a boy instead of having fun with your friends why did you bother coming Impa and Purah are going to tear you apart for this they will never let you live it down-

Zelda attempted to crumple those thoughts the way she’d crumpled failed outlines of research papers and tossed them into the nearest pit of fire in her brain. 

The feast gave way to dancing. Tables were moved off to the sides, opening an area up for children and couples alike to do whatever they pleased. Purah and Robbie were some of the first to participate, and Zelda snorted when Impa looked away like she wasn’t aware of, or for that matter related to, one of them.

“You should join them,” Link teased, nudging her with his elbow. It was the first contact they’d made all evening. She hated that it sent her heart racing.

“Absolutely not,” she replied and crossed her arms over her chest. “Besides, I don’t dance.”

He hummed sarcastically in response, making it clear that he knew better. He’d caught her dancing in her room when she thought she was alone, he’d roped her into dancing in the kitchen at two in the morning, and he’d dragged her to prom (which she would insist until the day she died that she was not interested in).

“Maybe you should start,” Link ended up saying. “Because it looks like someone’s about to ask you.”

Zelda’s heart stopped in her chest. Was he..? But then she followed his gaze and was disappointed (disappointed??) to find the same poet boy from earlier eyeing her like he was indeed thinking about it. 

She could admit it wasn’t one of her best plans of escape, but she turned to Link and bit her lip.

“Save me?” she asked, extending a hand. He eyed it for a second, leaning back against a railing with a shrug.

“I dunno. Seems like a fitting punishment for someone who lied about dancing,” he replied, mischief twinkling in his sky blue eyes.

Oh, she was not about to beg for his help. Two could play that game, and she wouldn’t be the first to cave in. 

“Fine, then maybe I will dance with him. He looks nice,” she answered, dropping her hand. She didn’t know what she was hoping for, exactly. To stir up some jealousy?

But Link only shrugged again.

“Suit yourself.”

So when the young poet approached her with a nervous smile and an extended hand, she did accept, offering what she hoped was a charming smile.

She made as much conversation as possible, and she liked to think it was going well.

Until Link swept past her with Purah, shooting her a grin. She glared playfully back, and her roommate winked.

“Trade off!” she shouted, and before Zelda could realize what was happening, much less protest to it, Purah had whisked the poor poet boy away, and she was back in Link’s arms.

“So you decided to save me after all?” she asked, hoping to combat the blush on her cheeks and the butterflies in her stomach.

“Did you not want me to?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow. “I can always go back to Purah.”

“Oh, Purah can do better,” she replied with a roll of her eyes.

“C’mon, Zel, I wasn’t that bad.”

“No, but you were too perfect.”

“Glad you can admit it.”

Zelda laughed and gave him a shove, but he pulled her back against him by her hands and she didn’t fight.

“I missed you,” she said, without a thought for what she was saying. 

“Did you?” he asked. His cheeks were red, but his smile told her he already knew. “What are you gonna do about it then, sunshine?”

Well, maybe Purah was right about her being the top of her class, because she was about to do something real stupid. He was smiling at her with that stupid smile, and he was holding her like nothing ever happened, and goddesses, she missed him.

She cupped his face in her hands and pulled him into a long craved kiss, and she pretended she couldn’t hear Robbie whooping in the background. 

“There’s my Zel,” Link said once they parted, leaning his forehead against hers.

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” she pointed out, brushing her fingers through his hair. 

“I didn’t want anyone else,” he replied simply, then pressed a kiss to her nose. 

“Is this my Hylia’s Day gift?” she asked with a laugh.

“Yep. Me, in all my glory. If it’s what you want.”

“I do.”

“Thank Hylia, now we can stop hearing about it,” said a voice that did not belong. Zelda whipped around to face Purah with wide eyes. 

“Ooh, exposed,” Link sang, hugging her waist like he couldn’t get enough of her. 

“Happy Hylia’s Day, you’re very much welcome,” Purah replied with a bow. Zelda contemplated throwing something at her.

“You are my least favorite roommate,” Zelda complained.

“Yeah, yeah, you can thank me on your wedding day.”

She buried her face in her hands as Purah skipped off, and Link’s laughter filled her ears.

Yeah, maybe one day she would thank her. But for now, she owed someone an apology.

“I’m sorry for.. you know,” she mumbled, turning back to face Link.

“Don’t apologize for needing time to figure stuff out,” he replied as he set a hand on her cheek, running his thumb over her cheekbone. 

“Well, I figured out one thing,” she said. 

“And what’s that?”

“That I don’t really want to be without you. Is that dumb?”

“Not at all.”

Link pulled her into another kiss and she hugged him close, deciding that this was probably one of the best Hylia’s Day celebrations she’d been to in a while. The goddess must’ve been smiling upon her today specifically, and she didn’t mind at all.

[victoriareyloficlists]

4 February 2021 Additions to Reylo Holidays

These fics have been added to the Holiday list located here.

Christmas

Fight, Flight, or F____ by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey gets a dildo advent calendar for office secret santa. Ben is absolutely panicking, his chance with the cute girl is absolutely toast. Poe would be mad that Ben took the wrong wrapped gift from the counter this morning but he can always buy Finn a new one and this is hilarious.) The Sweater Curse in Reverse by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey and Ben are roommates. He stresses a bit when Rey starts acting strange, she gives him intense looks while she's crocheting at night and gives him lingering hugs when she comes home to dinner made. Ben fears the worst but soon finds out his roommate is up to something.) Sugar On My Tongue by allstoriesintheend (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, 6 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: AU where Rey is a florist in a small town and Ben owns a bakery in the same town. They always work together for special occasions, especially weddings. Everyone in town knows they’re in love but them.) Home for the Holidays by LarirenShadow (AO3 2016  Rated T Complete, 5 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Kylo Ren, in a moment of weakness, tells his mother he'll be home for Christmas and will bring his girlfriend. Problem is he doesn't have one. Enter Rey, his grad assistant. He makes a deal with her so she'll be his girlfriend for the trip home.) Brand New Bag by DhampirsDrinkEspresso (AO3 2020  Rated M Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey doesn't get along with her co-worker Ben...a co-worker who is almost Rey's ideal man and also happens to be the son of her matchmaking boss. When Rey needs help with a children's Christmas party, Ben is sent to save the day-whether he and Rey like it or not.) christmas in the city. by pyroallerdyce (AO3 2020  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben meets Rey in a grocery store, offers to give her a ride home, and they discover they live on the same floor in the same building. They find out they have other things in common too, and maybe there is a future between the two of them.) A Reylo Christmas by Biekewieke (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 8 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: So when Leia Organa asks her Personal Assistant Rey to join her on a family vacation in Mon Torri for the holidays and highlights a big bonus, what is she to do? Only catch... Leia's son is coming along... Ben Solo is the enfant terrible of the family. Broody, sullen and with a huge chip on his shoulder, the young man is notoriously difficult.) Let's Meet Under the Mistletoe by GreyForceUser (ReyandKyloforever) (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 7 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey Johnson and Ben Solo do not get along. Their first meeting was less than impressive. A change in circumstances forces Rey and Ben to work together to stage a huge black-tie Christmas party in a ridiculously short period of time. Only time will tell if they can stand each other long enough to pull it off or if the whole thing will crash and burn.) Silent Night by avidvampirehunter (AO3 2019  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo, one of the higher-ups at First Order Insurance, has spent roughly one year dreading the inevitable—falling for Rey Kenobi, one of his most mysterious and alluring employees. Little does he know that Rey herself has been fighting the same temptations, nor that she may be losing the will to even try. When he ends up drawing her name for the annual Secret Santa gift exchange, the merciless hand of fate pushes them together through the storm raging outside—and in their hearts.) Merry (Fuzzy) and Bright by JaneNightwork (AO3 2019  Rated M Complete, 25 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: One night Ben finds a dog abandoned on his doorstep. She's cold, scared, and pregnant. Ben takes her to a nearby vet clinic and meets the beautiful veterinarian Rey, who promises to help him be the best caregiver the dog and her puppies could ask for. Throughout the holiday season Ben and Rey fall in love with the puppies and, of course, each other.) daylight by sparklylulz (sparklyulz) (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Coffee shop employee Rey has a run in with one of the difficult professors. Thus starts a very turbulent friendship until Ben needs a fake date to go with him to see his parents, the first time he's seen his parents in a while.) The Trail Bride by SecretReyloTrash (BadOldWest) (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 47 Chapters, Historical AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey Niima finds herself in a perilous situation when her husband dies at the start of their journey West. From the few bachelors on the trail in her party; she attaches herself to the best of her options. That option is the mysterious Banker Ben Solo.) Something About November Chapter 18 by SpaceWaffleHouseTM (AO3 2019  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Ben's adopted daughter finds a box of love letters he wrote and never sent, she decides she wants him happy for Christmas. With help from her Aunt Gwen, she sends her the letters.) The Fake Boyfriend Problem by INTPSlytherin_reylove97 (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Rose accidently tells her parents her roommate Rey was bringing her boyfriend for Christmas, instead of telling them she was bringing her own boyfriend Finn, the girls run into an interesting problem.) How to Keep Christmas by JaneNightwork (AO3 2018  Rated M Complete, 26 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey and Ben have had feelings for each other since she began teaching at Chandrila Elementary School earlier that year, but neither knows their affection is mutual. Rey plans to use the the Christmas season––her favorite time of year––as an excuse to spend more time with Ben, and to find a way to tell him how she feels. But can she convince the Grinch-ish Ben to enjoy Christmas with her? Equally important: will her friends Finn, Poe, and Rose be able to stop themselves from matchmaking and meddling and general mischief?) Twas the night before Sithmas... by Hellyjellybean (AO3 2019  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo is alone...and he likes it that way. What more does he need on Christmas eve? He has his whiskey and his bitterness to keep him warm. But Christmas magic can do wonderful things, and a visit from a mystical being throws Ben into a world very different from the one he knew. A world were he is married to the love of his life, he is close to his family and a little boy with dark eyes calls him Daddy. But is it all a dream? Or will Ben really get everything he has ever wanted this Christmas?) Blame it on the Mistletoe by deedreamer, HopelesslyReylo (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 5 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey Wilson doesn’t necessarily hate Christmas, it’s just that she’s never really enjoyed it. It’s too over the top, too full of the same repetitive music and consumerism. That’s not to say she doesn’t enjoy some things about the holiday... So when her new boss —and secret crush— Ben Solo catches her singing in her office, she lies to avoid looking like a grinch. Now she’s agreed to spend the holiday with him and his over-the-top Christmas fanatic family.) Crash my Bandicoot by KyloTrashForever (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben has lived next door to Rey for ten years now, and he’s been in love with her for most of them. A Christmas break with no one but themselves for company leaves a lot of time for Crash Bandicoot sessions... among other things.) Valentine’s Day

Love's Mystery by Hartmannclan (AO3 2020  Rated G Complete, 14 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo only needs one lady in his life; his daughter, Hope. So he is surprised to find himself intrigued by the masked woman who just spilled a drink down the front of his costume. Maybe this year the company Valentine's day dance won't be so boring after all? And what happens when he has to leave suddenly.....) No Chance, No Way by AttackoftheDarkCurses (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 7 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Just as Rey's decided to give up on love, she gets partnered to co-write Valentine's themed articles with the office grump, who... maybe isn't such a grump.) Valentine's Day by PropertyOfThaJoker (AO3 2018  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: The cat immediately came to Rey, who immediately held it. “He can’t be more than five weeks old, Ben. He’s a baby. It’s cold out here – he’ll freeze to death. We have to take him home.”) How Much Can Kylo Ren Endure This Christmas by reylology (AO3 2017  Rated M Complete, 10 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: As the CEO of the number one commercial enterprise in New York City, Kylo Ren would think that bringing home a girl for his parents to meet should be the least of his concerns. But when a phone call with his mother takes an absurd, aggravating turn, he finds himself shoved headfirst into a lie. Desperate to prove his parents wrong, Kylo would do anything in order to see the shocked looks on their faces. Even if it means seeking help from the random girl that had just walked into his office for a job interview.) The Best Medicine by Cecilia1204 (AO3 2019  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Being stuck in hospital for Christmas was enough to make Ben Solo feel really down in the dumps. That is, until he meets two angels in the form of Rey and her amazing cat.) Halloween

Closet Encounters Of The Thirsty Kind by ReyloBrit (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey dislikes Ben. Ben dislikes Rey. Funny, then, that people keep thinking they've come to this party together, and unfortunate that when cops raid the party, there's only one place to hide. And it's such a cramped and confined place too.) Anything to Win by Erulisse17 (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey hates losing. She hates losing almost more than she loves winning. Which is why she's in the ridiculous position of asking Kylo Ren, the very person who keeps beating her at the singles costume contest, to team up with her to dominate the couples contest and trounce Phasma and Hux once and for all. Working with Kylo is a necessary evil, but really, she'd do anything to win. Anything! Unless... it's falling in love.) Thanksgiving

Trouble for Thanksgiving by Biekewieke (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 40 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey Kenobi's temporary work visa is about to expire. She needs her boss' signature on her renewal application to get the extension she desperately wants and needs. Only her boss, the infamous Ben Solo, is an asshole. He's notoriously difficult and she knows this firsthand. Nevertheless, she needs his signature on those papers if she wants to avoid being deported by the end of the year... So when Rey tells her about her looming deportation, he finds a way to bend the situation to suit his own needs. Except, for the first time in his adult life, things don't go exactly as planned when he takes her home for the holidays...) I Wanna Hold Your Hand by SageMcMae (AO3 2019  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: To escape Thanksgiving dinner with his mother, author Ben Solo travels to Verona, and hides away in his publisher’s villa. While wandering the city, he discovers Casa di Giulietta and the statue contained within. Some believe touching her will bring you luck in love. Others believe that when her soulmate touches her, she will come to life. Ben doesn’t believe in any of it. Until an accidental brush of his hand results in an empty statue podium and him catching a very confused, very irritated woman in his arms.)

[knitting-gay-nerd]

1, 8, and 10 for the Tea and Books Asks

Thank you for the ask! :) 

1. What period of history do you enjoy learning about?

I love learning about pretty much any period of history, but I really love learning about the American Revolution. With most of the other periods I’ve learned about on my own, I’ve learned a few cool facts and moved on. It’s modern enough that I can fairly easily understand what people are writing, but it’s long enough ago that it feels like a completely different time. Though, at this point, February 2020 feels like an entirely different time...

I also grew up in a place where there are historical sites literally in some people’s backyards. There are so many parks and monuments relating to the Revolution nearby. That probably had an impact on it as well. 

8. What are your top three films? Books?

Ooh, this is a hard one. 

I don’t watch movies all that often, but these are the top three that I can think of, in no particular order:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (which is going here because it’s beat out by other favorite books). 

Up 

Mulan (the animated one obviously)

And here are the books, which were hard in a completely different way (that’s why I cheated), in this order:

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams (as well as the following series)

This one is all the animal books I still have on my bookshelf: National Velvet by Enid Bagnold, Finding Danny by Linzi Glass, James Herriot’s memoirs, Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan, Maxi’s Secrets by Lynn Plourde, and, of course, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. (Because I cannot let go of any dog or horse books. I have kept all of them since I was very small. These are just the ones I have honored with a place on my ever increasingly inadequate bookshelf.

I’m also reading The Name of the Wind, which I love, but can’t justify putting on the list until I finish it. 

10. Do you have a favorite classic novel?

This one’s hard too. If we’re going by how my 7th grade language arts teacher (hated her by the way) defined a classic novel, (which was convoluted and I don’t really understand it myself) it would be The Lord of the Rings (which I am counting as one book). (Those books were the only ones on the list that she gave us that I enjoyed or remembered in the slightest.)

But, if I go by how everyone else defines a classic novel, it is To Kill a Mockingbird. 

[transmissionsfromthebattlefield]

Flash Flood

Originally posted 2021/06/13 at 3:00 pm

The five hour drive was worth it. Kent was a success!

From exploring the town Wednesday night to touring the campus the next morning, my time in Kent was a fascinating and eye opening experience. I was not sure what to expect, as judging a location’s current condition when most of your knowledge comes from its history can be difficult. Yet I was overall extremely satisfied while I was there.

My primary gripe: leaving so early. We stayed just one night, and a large part of me wanted to do nothing but continue wandering the campus in the burning heat, taking in the brutalish buildings and towering trees, fantasizing about undergraduate life. Chances to escape from my usual surroundings are often scarce and always short lived, making every drive home something to dread. Too often these excursions seem to zip by in a flash in retrospect, which is what I guess results from savoring something so much that you let go of some of the uptightness you’ve grown accustomed to and start living in the moment…not that’s a necessarily bad thing.

This temporary change of scenery extremely refreshing for my psyche, but it was also enlightening to spend time in a place that holds both historical significance and increasing relevancy, especially since learning of the massacre that occurred on campus in 1970 left a large impact on me. It was a genuinely sobering experience to walk where four young innocents had their futures obliterated decades ago, the same grounds where modern youths currently prepare for their own postcollegiate lives to unfold. Seeing markers for where protesting students were shot and the sectioned off areas in the nearby parking lot showing where the four were killed seemed unreal in the moment, and my emotions only began to really hit home after leaving. I was able to leave that campus with feelings of actual hope of an actual future. Allison, Jeffrey, Sandra, and William suffered a very different experience than what I would envision for myself or anyone else.

The abuse of illegitimate authority that resulted in the May 4 massacre remains the same today, albeit in more refined form. At Kent State, the memorials and informational placards are the most blatant reminder of why the good fight is still worth fighting, though the somewhat seedy wooded areas on the outskirts of the town that we got lost in upon our initial arrival also seem to serve that purpose. I remember reading that, during that period of turmoil and pain, Kent State’s liberal students considered the campus an “oasis” from the surrounding deep red territory. Living in an area where I am constantly bombarded by Trump 2020 signs alongside various less explicit methods of bigotry, I can’t help but feel for them. If only life was just and everything was easy.

Despite this, the chances of me joining their ranks as a “Golden Flash” have only become more likely since my visit. Kent State genuinely felt like a place I could worm my way into and find plenty nourishment. Brand new things and brand new places often have an atmosphere of impenetrability and intimidation, as they are associated with breaking out of one’s comfort zone and embracing a new world. But I didn’t feel as much like a fish out of water in Kent. Actually, my visit felt more like I was entering a comfort zone of sorts. It was a comfort zone formed by both the assertion of myself as an independent person and constant reminders of history and the experiences of others. But isn’t that a fundamental—albeit complicated and looming—aspect of the human experience?

[blueweave01]

Global Smart Ticketing Market Getting on to the Magnanimous Mode at USD 15.0 billion in 2027

A recent study conducted by the strategic consulting and market research firm; BlueWeave Consulting revealed that the global smart ticketing market was worth USD 6.57 billion in the year 2020. The study reveals that the market is projected to grow at the CAGR of 12.4% during 2021-2027 (forecast period), earning revenue of around USD 15.0 billion by the end of 2027. The smart ticketing market is gaining momentum due to the integration of advanced technologies such as contactless cards, and technology-enabled transit systems in smart ticketing systems. The increased use of cashless transactions by smart ticketing has provided a diverse payment option to the customers, leading to increased customer adoption of this market.

Additionally, the growth of the global smart ticketing market can be attributed to the increasing demand for smart ticketing industries from various industries, such as tourism, entertainment, and sports. The big spike in the intelligent transportation industry is also driving the growth of the smart ticketing market worldwide. For example, Brescia Mobilità, which oversees public transportation in Brescia and the surrounding regions, is collaborating with services and solutions provider Conduent Transportation to implement a contactless payment platform on its bus fleet. The system will be operational on all 220 buses that serve the Italian city and 14 nearby municipalities. Brescia Mobilità is an incredible example of how public transportation networks are rapidly modernizing by using technology to provide smooth, user-centric services that improve the transit experience.

However, the high cost of set-ups, data security, and the need for a centralized network for smart ticketing services are some of the roadblocks to the market's growth. To overcome the security issues, key players in the smart ticketing market are incorporating blockchain technology, digital sensors, and artificial intelligence (AI) into smart ticketing services.

Technological advancements Driving the Smart Technology Market Worldwide

Integration of smart technologies in the smart ticketing market has diversified the range of services it provides to the consumers. Technologies such as contactless smart cards, virtual reality (VR), maps, wearable devices, smartphones, and AI are being increasingly incorporated into smart ticketing. Rising smart technology integration has resulted in substantial economic growth for countries such as India, Singapore, China, and the UAE. Additionally, bolstering the implementation of smart ticketing systems stimulates the transportation industry, which in turn benefits the tourism industries of Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Increasing demand for smart ticketing systems Propelling Market Growth

Smart ticketing services are utilized in a variety of industries, including sports, entertainment, transport, parking, healthcare, and the banking, financial services & insurance sector (BFSI).  These services are being preferred in various avenues due to the easy management of data transactions and the convenience of cashless transactions. Among all, the transport industry has the greatest demand for smart ticketing. It provides the consumers with the option of advanced booking, secure data collection, time reduction, and a range of payment options. The majority of sports events that are being organized around the globe utilize smart ticketing on their booking platforms. Technologies such as QR code, NFC, RFID, and others have upgraded the services and increased their application in many industries, thereby propelling the growth of the Global Smart Ticketing Market.

The E-ticket segment holds  the largest share of the Smart Ticketing Market

Based on product type, the smart ticketing market has been categorized into the ticket machine, e-ticket, e-kiosk, request tracker, and others. Among these, the e-ticket segment holds the largest market share. This can be attributed to the widespread use of e-tickets in sports events, transit systems, and movie ticket bookings. The security provided by e-tickets over paper tickets is their unique selling point. Additionally, increased use of smartphones, availability of services on mobile apps, and ease of cashless transactions have increased the demand for the e-ticket segment. However, the e-kiosk segment is also expected to grow during the forecast period.

Impact of COVID-19 on Smart Ticketing Market

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the transport industry across the globe. Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, there has been a major decline in transportation activities around the world due to travel restrictions imposed by the governments of different countries.  The sharp drop in ridership since the nationwide lockdowns has placed public transportation networks across the globe in severe financial jeopardy. Business growth has also been hampered due to the lack of investments by financially affected manufacturers and reduced government initiatives. However, smart ticketing is still the most preferred mode of billing/booking as it provides a contactless payment option.

Europe Leads the Smart Ticketing Market

The smart ticketing market is categorized into North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa, wherein Europe accounts for the largest share in the global smart ticketing market. Europe is the center of the world's most prestigious travel and sporting activities. Moreover, these two industries are major end-users for the smart ticketing market. The smart ticketing market in Europe is also thriving because of large sports events in Germany and increasing tourism in Paris (France) that utilizes the services of smart ticketing widely. These are the primary factors contributing to the growth of the smart ticketing market in this region.

However, the Asia-Pacific region is also likely to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. The region is expected to register a CAGR of 14% in the forecast period. Several emerging economies, such as India, are growing their efforts to promote the digitalization of money, which is driving the growth of the smart ticketing market. For example, the Indian government launched the Digital India Program to digitalize payment methods across the country. Such initiatives combined with the surge in the use of smartphones in this country have led the majority of the population to adopt smart ticketing services for ticket booking/billings and smart cards.

Smart Ticketing Market Competitive Landscape

The smart ticketing market is moderately fragmented and is witnessing the entry of new players with favorable government initiatives. The key players dominating the smart ticketing market are HID Global Corporation, Thales Digital Identity, and Security, NXP Semiconductors N.V., Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, Infineon Technologies AG, CPI Card Group Inc, Inside Secure, Xerox Corporation, Cubic Corporation, Atsuke, Cammax Limited, Conduent Inc., and other prominent players. In order to increase their customer base, players are investing in product developments and joint ventures. Aside from that, the market players are  competing by offering customers personalized services and integrated payment solutions.

Don’t miss the business opportunity of the global smart ticketing market. Consult our analysts to gain crucial insights and facilitate your business growth.

The in-depth analysis of the report provides information about growth potential, upcoming trends, and statistics of the global smart ticketing market. It also highlights the factors driving forecasts of total market size. The report promises to provide recent technology trends in the global smart ticketing market along with industry insights to help decision-makers make sound strategic decisions. Furthermore, the report also analyses the growth drivers, challenges, and competitive dynamics of the market.

About Us

BlueWeave Consulting provides all-inclusive Market Intelligence (MI) Solutions to businesses regarding various products and services online & offline. We offer comprehensive market research reports by analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data to boost up the performance of your business solution. BWC has built its reputation from the scratches by delivering quality inputs and nourishing long-lasting relationships with its clients. We are one of the promising digital MI solutions companies providing agile assistance to make your business endeavors successful.

[dippedanddripped]

Debbie Harry doesn’t believe in harbouring regrets. “I have made many, many errors, but nobody leads a perfect life,” she reflects down the telephone from New York. “So, should I regret anything? No. It is a waste of time. It really is a waste of time.”

Dial back to the turn of the 70s and the life that Harry led before fronting Blondie – prior to her image being burned onto the retina of popular culture – was colourful to say the least. “I was so desperate to live life,” she says of her time spent hanging with the outcasts and artists of downtown New York. “I was jamming in as much experience as I possibly could and I don’t know if I could have done anything differently. I learned a lot.”

The old Bowery music venue CBGBs has long passed into music folklore as the place that called the likes of Television, Patti Smith, and the Ramones their house bands. It was also where punk and new wave progenitors Blondie cut their teeth before they sashayed into the wider world with the protean panache that would make them a household name. Classic singles such as “Heart of Glass”, “Call Me”, “Atomic”, and “Rapture” have been responsible for more worldwide rug-cutting than an industrial carpet tool. To imply that they were merely a solid singles band is to do them a cardinal disservice, however.

And although they’ve always cocked their attention to the things ahead of them, Harry and her Blondie cohorts have spent a lot of time looking back just lately. Harry’s long-awaited autobiography, Face It, hit the shelves last year, and Blondie co-founder and one-time partner Chris Stein published Point of View: Me, New York City, and the Punk Scene, a photography book featuring personal snaps taken during the band’s pomp in the 70s and early 80s. “We can’t keep on touring and doing club dates the way that we used to. It would be physically impossible,” Harry concedes. “Living through this pandemic has certainly made us take a long look at the value of what we’ve got with our body of work.” Asked if it is a process of attempting to frame their legacy, she admits it’s something that they “have to do”.

This deep-dive into their canon has culminated in a mouth-watering archive set, Blondie: Against the Odds 1974-1982, slated for release next year. Coming in four formats, it promises to include extensive liner notes, “track by track” commentary by the entire band, a photographic history plus rare and unreleased bonus material. The group will also go out on the road – coronavirus permitting – for an autumn Against the Odds UK tour with Garbage.

The artist born Angela Trimble was put up for adoption only a few months after she was ushered into the world in the summer of 1945. A loving New Jersey couple took her in, rechristened her Deborah Harry, and raised her as their own. She grew up in a suburb that she “never left”,  was voted best-looking girl in her high school yearbook, and oscillated within a social circle that consisted of “many of the same people” throughout her childhood. “I was somehow shy within that,” she recalls, “(but) somebody once said to me that being shy was an ego trip and a light went on in my head. I thought, ‘Oh, uh-huh, let’s have none of that!’”

Harry travelled by bus as a curious teen to nearby Greenwich Village, imbibing the febrile inner-city atmosphere. In 1965, she graduated from junior college with an associate of arts degree and New York’s allure became too enticing to resist. She decamped to the bright lights of the city and made ends meet with a succession of odd jobs, including secretarial work for the BBC, waiting tables and an infamous nine-month stint as a Playboy Bunny.

The period was a traumatic one, too, with Harry enduring an ex-lover-turned-violent-stalker and a near-miss with serial killer Ted Bundy (although Bundy’s identity is contested by others). In her memoir, she writes candidly of the time she was raped by a man wielding a knife while on her way home from a concert with Stein. Music offered a vessel for her creativity, and she spent time as part of girl group The Stilettoes and folk ensemble Wind in the Willows before her meeting with guitarist Stein which set the foundations for Blondie. Their classic lineup was completed by Gary Valentine (bass), Jimmy Destri (keys), and Clem Burke (drums).

“Somebody once said to me that being shy was an ego trip and a light went on in my head. I thought, ‘Oh, uh-huh, let’s have none of that’” – Debbie Harry

Although they self-identified as punks, the parochial and nihilistic mandate as promulgated by the genre’s militant diehards never fit Blondie comfortably. The group looked outwards from the moment they started, drawing inspiration from their cosmopolitan city. Their sound was a melting pot pulling at the seams of culture’s fabric, and they would weave their own patterns from it.

Harry agrees that their eclecticism was down to good fortune in coming from the “metropolitan area of New York” where they ingested “a lot of musical influences”. Taken as a whole, their catalogue bears this out. Blondie never stood still musically – yet never sounded like anyone else – and they loaded their songs with more hooks than a fisherman’s trawler. 1976’s punchy, eponymous debut married surf-rock textures with 50s girl-group sensibilities, and their palette had expanded exponentially by the time of seminal third album, Parallel Lines (1978). Eat to the Beat and Autoamerican followed, by which point they could boast flirtations with disco, rocksteady, funk, hip hop, and more within their enviable output.

When asked to pick one track that encapsulates the essence of Blondie, Harry opts for their 1981 US number one single “Rapture”. “What happens in ‘Rapture’ is very comprehensive,” she says. “It took a form of music that was, or still is, very modern and can be very political. Rap and hip-hop songs back then didn’t have their own songs. Rappers would just rap on somebody else’s music. (‘Rapture’) was crafted specifically for that rap. Until then that hadn’t been done. It was a breath of fresh air.” It stands as one of the things in her career that she feels “very good about”.

Blessed with the sort of features that could sell sand to the Saharans, Harry’s appearance caused a stir from the band’s earliest days. “That’s part of showbiz,” she says to me, trying to downplay it. “We always had an eye for that, the entire band. We always had an idea of making a look that represented our sensibilities and links to British pop and mod.” Maybe so, but it was Harry alone who was immortalised by Andy Warhol in one of his iconic silkscreen prints, and who posed for era-defining photographers including Robert Mapplethorpe and Anne Leibowitz.

Did the disproportionate attention she attracted ruffle feathers within the Blondie camp at the time? “Yes and no,” Harry remembers. “We were all happy that it was working. I suppose there was a certain amount of competition or jealousy but ultimately, no. I think that’s a better question for Clem or one of the other members in the band. Of course my relationship with Chris was so close that he was very happy about everything.”

The band’s wheels eventually came off after their muddy and unfocused sixth album, The Hunter, dashed against the commercial rocks in 1982. They had to abandon their subsequent tour after Stein became gravely ill with a rare autoimmune disorder, pemphigus vulgaris, that proved extremely difficult to diagnose. Blondie had no option but to bow out of the public eye, and they broke up quietly.

15 years later, with Stein fully recovered, the group reconvened and released a critically acclaimed and commercially successful comeback album, No Exit. They even topped the UK charts with lead single “Maria”, but faced tussles with erstwhile members at the time too. Former bassist and co-writer on “One Way or Another”, Nigel Harrison, and guitarist Frank Infante attempted to sue the rest of the band over their omission from the reformed lineup. And when Blondie were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, Infante grabbed the microphone to express his ire publicly.

Fast-forward to 2020 and the settled iteration of the band are working on a new album with John Congleton, who produced 2017’s Pollinator. Does Harry have a formula when it comes to songwriting these days? No, as it happens. “When a phrase or a sentiment makes me respond emotionally or physically, I write it down and I save it,” she explains. “At a certain point, I’ll sort of review things. A lot of times I like to just work with a rhythm track. Just a drumbeat or some kind of drone-y rhythm, a groove. Other times people will give me a rough sketch of some chord changes – an idea that they’ve got. I seem to work in a lot of different ways.”

Thanks to her effortless chic and timeless looks, Harry’s relationship with the fashion industry has been a mutual love-in since forever, and she recently announced a revival of her partnership with ethical fashion designers Vin + Omi – the duo responsible for her profane ‘STOP FUCKING THE PLANET’ cape worn at the Q Awards in 2016 and throughout Blondie’s Pollinator tour. They have teamed up for a new sustainable clothing line entitled HOPE, and her enthusiasm for the project is palpable. “I love Vin + Omi,” she says. “They are so creative and adventurous. They have this desire to prevail and do things that are smart and modern in terms of recycling and making energy count. I think that is brilliant.”

As a fledgling bee-keeper, the plight of the bees is also something close to Harry’s heart. It was one of the reasons why 2017’s Pollinator was, well, named exactly that. “You’re either being stung by a bee or you’re going to eat its honey,” she chuckles softly, marvelling at the absurdity of the contrast. “But bees and water are two issues we cannot escape from. We should be concerned with finding better ways of living, using our resources in the best way possible.”

Help is coming, she hopes, through the election of Joe Biden, who is “firmly attached” to the idea of helping the environmental cause – and she believes his ideas can help the economy, too. “I’ve been saying for quite a long time that solar and wind power are renewable (energies) that can create jobs,” she says. It’s a far cry from her feelings towards outgoing President Trump and his “daily infusion of bullshit” and “thunderstorm of endless diatribes”.

“One of the most exciting things about rock’n’roll was that it was about breaking the rules, and (‘WAP”) is certainly a part of that. It’s titillating and aggressive and it is part of what is exciting about popular music. The nature of what we try to do is to shock and entertain at the same time” – Debbie Harry

What strikes you when you speak to Harry for an extended period is not only her warmth, but her unexpected humility for someone so staggeringly famous. I reference a Bob Dylan BBC interview from the 80s in which he observed with sadness how his fame had the ability to change a room’s energy and how he missed seeing people act naturally around him. She paws the comparison away, saying she’s nowhere near famous “to the degree of Bob Dylan”, whom she calls “such a megastar”. This could sound like false modesty coming second-hand, but in person it feels like a sincere statement, even if it is a little bewildering coming from an international icon. She will concede, however, that she has “definitely noticed and felt something like that” and has often wished she could simply be “a fly on the wall”.

There is also an inquisitiveness that makes the conversation a more two-way affair than your quote-unquote typical ‘interview’. She fires questions back at you, not as a deflection tactic, but to expand and explore a topic further. This happens when conversation turns to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ubiquitous “WAP”. A recent interview had her fangirling over the track, but Harry’s feelings no longer appear to be as clear-cut and she wishes to discuss the song further. “I love it and hate it at the same time,” she now shares. “One of the most exciting things about rock’n’roll was that it was about breaking the rules, and (‘WAP’) is certainly a part of that. It’s titillating and aggressive and it is part of what is exciting about popular music. The nature of what we try to do is to shock and entertain at the same time.” She pauses. “I don’t know. Everything is revealed and maybe sexual explicitness has come of age.”

Pushed about what she dislikes about “WAP”, she says she would “hate it” if any young girl or woman was hurt by the song’s message. “I think that, in a way, men have to know that women think like this, and that there is this component,” she says, “but I would hate it to mean that everyone should be treated like this. I don’t think anybody should be hurt by sex”.

Harry has long championed the LGBTQ+ communities. When she refers to her dearly departed friend and Hairspray co-star Divine as a ‘drag queen’ in Face It, she acknowledges the term in some instances is no longer accurate or politically correct. I suggest that it can often seem as though the evolution of our language is speeding up in the digital age – by necessity, of course – and ask her if online culture fills her with concern when it comes to using the right terms. “Yeah, (because) in many cases it can be a slip of the tongue, especially for an old dog like me! Things do move so very, very quickly. It is hard to keep up,” she observes. “Fortunately, I have a lot of godchildren!”

Speaking of younger generations, Harry likes to think she’d have coped with social media if she were coming up today, but is thankful that she had her “dark cocoon” in which to “bloom out of”, a place where she was able to “ripen”. “When you’re under the harsh glare of constantly being analysed, that shapes you whether you want it to or not,” she says. “It’s a germ or a seed that’s planted in your mind. It can take surprising turns and it can affect your growth. For good or for worse, who knows?”

“When you’re under the harsh glare of constantly being analysed, that shapes you whether you want it to or not. It’s a germ or a seed that’s planted in your mind. It can take surprising turns and it can affect your growth” – Debbie Harry

One thing that remains is her fierce level of self-criticism. “I always want to do better,” she declares matter-of-factly. “I’ve always been very critical of everything. I hear things or look at them and say, ‘Oh God, it should have been that (instead).” Maybe this hypercritical inclination is what still drives her forward. “I honestly don’t like resting on my laurels. I like working and I like creating. I always beat myself up about not being more creative or more prolific.”

When looking at the bounty of projects she has lined up, no one in their right mind could put Debbie Harry and laurel-resting in the same sentence. Aside from the new album, archival set and fashion project, the paperback edition of her autobiography will be released with a brand-new epilogue in April of next year. (Just don’t ask her what’s in it – “I don’t remember what I wrote. I’ll have to look it up!” she says with a laugh.)

The signs are that the musician is done looking into the rear-view mirror, though. Time may be passing, the tide may be higher, but Debbie Harry is doing more than merely holding on. Her eyes are locked to the future and she’s positively thriving.

Blondie: Against the Odds 1974-1982 will be released next year; Face It is out now via Harper Collins

[godsofterror]

Swan Lake

Who are the Swan Maidens, and why does George include them in A Song of Ice and Fire?

THE LEGEND

In The World of Ice and Fire, George includes a Pentoshi legend about Hukko, a legendary Andal king who slew the swan maidens. Ancient Andalos being just north of Pentos, in lands now controlled by the Pentoshi, it’s natural that the two groups share some legends, and the maesters of Oldtown believe that Hukko was known as Hugor of the Hill to the Andals.

The Pentoshi legend goes like this: “An old legend told in Pentos claims that the Andals slew the swan maidens who lured travelers to their deaths in the Velvet Hills that lie to the east of the Free City. A hero whom the Pentoshi singers call Hukko led the Andals at that time, and it is said that he slew the seven maids not for their crimes but instead as sacrifice to his gods. There are some maesters who have noted that Hukko may well be a rendering of the name of Hugor.”

MYTHOLOGICAL MAIDENS

Swan maidens, in “real-world” mythology, are mythological beings with ancient provenance. All over the world, from Eurasia to Africa to the Americas, stories of shapeshifting animals are a common mythological motif along with creation myths.

“The swan maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form.The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. In folktales of this type, the male character spies the maiden, typically by some body of water (usually bathing), then snatches away the feather garment (or some other article of clothing), which prevents her from flying away (or swimming away, or renders her helpless in some other manner), forcing her to become his wife”

While they are referred to as swan maidens, as many of the stories involve shapeshifting swans that turn into beautiful human women, they can be fish, deer, buffalo, goats, seals, wolves, geese, even bats, among many other forms. Some of these forms have specific names, like selkies for seal maidens or mermaids for fish women. The stories are not always about maidens, either - there are male swan “maidens” in folklore as well.

The swan maiden motif incorporates all mythological beings that are half human and half animal, who live between the human world and the water or the sky. Shapeshifter and skin-slippers, who can take on or off their animal suit to become human, or who live in the natural world beyond the human world. They can be antagonistic or helpful, can save men from drowning or lure them to a death on the rocks. They can be monsters, or lovers, or both.

So the swan maiden as a mythological motif is incredibly widespread, and not necessarily a swan, nor a maiden. It incorporates selkies and mermaids and sirens, those half-women and half-bird beings of Greek mythology. In fact, the Pentoshi legend references the stories of the sirens, who “who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and singing voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island” by mentioning that the Swan Maidens “lured travelers to their deaths in the Velvet Hills”.

HUGOR OF THE HILL

Hukko, from the Pentoshi legend, was probably the same person the Andals called Hugor of the Hill. The first king of the Andals, he was a major figure in the faith of the Seven, having been crowned by the Father himself. If the Pentoshi legend is true, he also sacrificed 7 swan maidens to the Seven in the Velvet Hills. The Andals later fled from the area in the face of the threat from the Valyrians, and invaded Westeros. Faced with extermination and filled with religious fervor, they got a foothold in the Fingers and proceeded to take over the Vale of Arryn, and from there much of Westeros south of the Neck.

THE ANDALS, ANGLES, SAXONS AND VANDALS

A little real world history is important here. The Andals, and the Andal Invasion, are based on the Germanic tribes who invaded Britain in the 5th Century AD (the Angles and Saxons) after the Romans left the island. The name is derived from the Vandals, who were an eastern Germanic tribe that were pushed out of their land by the Huns, and then invaded Italy and Spain before leaving from Andalusia and conquering North Africa.

The Germanic tribes of that time shared many things - a common Scandanvian homeland, an ancestral language, religion, stories, and a warrior culture inspired by centuries of in-fighting and fighting with the southern Romans and the peoples of the eastern steppes.

In the 5th century, power vacuums in the west inspired by the collapse of the western Roman Empire and eastern pressures from the powerful Huns (nomadic horse-riding warriors from the Eurasian steppes) coalesced into a migratory pressure on the various Germanic tribes. They moved into western Europe and Britain, creating new kingdoms where Rome had once ruled for 500 years, including France, Spain and England.

GERMANIC INVASION OF ENGLAND

The famous story Beowulf recalls this Germanic shared past: an ancient story of Scandanavian kings and monsters, Beowulf was of the tribe called the Geats, who lived in southern Sweden. He aided the king of the Danes in a fight against the monster Grendel and his more monstrous mother. Late in his life, after Beowulf himself became king of the Geats, he fights and kills a dragon, but dies by the wounds he received in the fight.

This story was carried in the minds of the Germanic invaders of Britain, who came from modern Denmark and Germany. Germanic ancestors of the English told and retold the story until it was written down in Old English in a book of stories hand compiled by English scribes. Escaping fire and purge, the book survived for 1000 years until its importance was finally realized in the 18th century.

BEOWULF AND GRENDEL

The first two monsters in Beowulf, Grendel and his mother, are aquatic monsters who come on land to hunt and eat humans. Beowulf defeats Grendel on land, in the mead-hall of King Hrothgar, by ripping his arm off. Grendel goes back to the marshes to die, and soon after his mother appears at the mead-hall and murders more men. The lair of Grendel’s mother is a mythological geography: described as a deep lake where deep below a waterfall Beowulf dives to find a cave underground; Beowulf slays the water monster with an ancient sword and takes the head of Grendel back to his people. Later he is proclaimed king of the Geats.

THE NICOR

In Beowulf, the Old English word used for water monsters was “nicor”. This was an old Germanic word, generally used for aquatic monsters and water spirits. In the Germanic tradition, the mythological and magical swan maidens and mermaids and other shapeshifting monsters fell under this term “nicor”.

All of the Germanic languages have versions of this word used to describe different types of water monsters. In Norwegian water spirits are called the Nøkk, and this myth was used in the movie Frozen 2 where it was seen as a helpful river horse. In Swedish they are the Näcken.

Näcken lures people down into the lake and takes them, as if drowning; they then come to his magnificent halls on the lake bottom.

The German derivative is Nix or Nixie (the Nix are male and the Nixie are female), a term for water beings who are usually malevolent and like to lure people into deep water, and then drown them. This term has been borrowed into English as well. Another English derivative of this word “nicor” is “knucker” or “nicker”, which is an English water dragon that lives in deep pools or “knuckerholes”.

But in English, these shapeshifting water monsters are best known as the Neck.

*The neck has occurred in all Germanic peoples; if isl. nykr his ability to change shape is mentioned , and the word also means "hippopotamus", as well as the corresponding angls. nicor , fnhty. nihus , "crocodile"; the basic meaning is thus "water wonder"; for. nix is "naked", nixe "mermaid".*

[arcticdementor]

Today the richest 40 Americans have more wealth than the poorest 185 million Americans. The leading 100 landowners now own 40 million acres of American land, an area the size of New England. There has been a vast increase in American inequality since the mid-20th century, and Europe — though some way behind — is on a similar course.

These are among the alarming stats cited by Joel Kotkin’s The Coming of Neo-Feudalism, published earlier this year just as lockdown sped up some of the trends he chronicled: increased tech dominance, rising inequality between rich and poor, not just in wealth but in health, and record levels of loneliness (4,000 Japanese people die alone each week, he cheerfully informs us).

Kotkin is among a handful of thinkers warning about a cluster of related trends, including not just inequality but declining social mobility, rising levels of celibacy and a shrinking arena of political debate controlled by a small number of like-minded people.

The one commonality is that all of these things, along with the polarisation of politics along quasi-religious lines, the decline of nationalism and the role of universities in enforcing orthodoxy, were the norm in pre-modern societies. In our economic structure, our politics, our identity and our sex lives we are moving away from the trends that were common between the first railway and first email. But what if the modern age was the anomaly, and we’re simply returning to life as it has always been?

…

Most of the medieval left-behinds would have worked at home or nearby, the term “commuter” only being coined in the 1840s as going to an office or factory became the norm, a trend that only began to reverse in the 21st century (accelerating sharply this year).

…

Along with income stratification, another pre-modern trend is the decline of social mobility, which almost everywhere is slowing (with the exception of immigrant communities, many of whom come from the middle class back home).

Social mobility in the US has fallen by 20% since the early 1980s, according to Kotkin, and the Californian-based Antonio Garcia Martinez has talked of an informal caste system in the state, with huge wage differences between rich and poor and housing restrictions removing any hope of rising up. California now has among the most dystopian of income inequality, with vast numbers of multimillionaires but also a homeless underclass now suffering from “medieval” diseases.

Unfortunately, where California leads, America and then Europe follows.

…

Patronage has made a comeback, especially among artists, who have largely returned to their pre-modern financial norm: desperate poverty. Whereas musicians and writers have always struggled, the combination of housing costs, reduced government support and the internet has ended what was until then an unappreciated golden age; instead they turn once again to patrons, although today it is digital patronage rather than aristocratic benevolence.

A caste system creates caste interests, and some liken today’s economy to medieval Europe’s tripartite system, in which society was divided between those who pray, those who fight and those who work. Just as the medieval clergy and nobility had a common interest in the system set against the laborers, so it is today, with what Thomas Piketty calls the Merchant Right and Brahmin Left — two sections of the elite with different worldviews but a common interest in the liberal order, and a common fear of the third estate.

…

Tech is by nature anti-egalitarian, creating natural monopolies that wield vastly more power than any of the great industrial barons of the modern age, and have cultural power far greater than newspapers of the past, closer to that of the Church in Kotkin’s view; their algorithms and search engines shape our worldview and our thoughts, and they can, and do, censor people with heretical views.

Rising inequality and stratification is linked to the decline of modern sexual habits. The nuclear family is something of a western oddity, developing as a result of Catholic Church marriage laws and reaching its zenith in the 19th and 20th centuries with the Victorian cult of family and mid-20th century “hi honey I’m home” Americana. Today, however, the nuclear household is in decline, with 32 million American adults living with their parents or grandparents, a growing trend in pretty much all western countries except Scandinavia (which may partly explain the region’s relative success with Covid-19).

This is a return to the norm, as with the rise of the involuntarily celibate. Celibacy was common in medieval Europe, where between 15-25% of men and women would have joined holy orders. In the early modern period, with rising incomes and Protestantism, celibacy rates plunged but they have now returned to the medieval level.

The first estate of this neo-feudal age is centred on academia, which has likewise returned to its pre-modern norm. At the time of the 1968 student protests university faculty in both the US and Britain slightly leaned left, as one would expect of the profession. By the time of Donald Trump’s election many university departments had Democrat: Republican ratios of 20, 50 or even 100:1. Some had no conservative academics, or none prepared to admit it. Similar trends are found in Britain.

Around 900 years ago Oxford evolved out of communities of monks and priests; for centuries it was run by “clerics”, although that word had a slightly wider meaning, and such was the legacy that the celibacy rule was not fully dropped until 1882.

This was only a decade after non-Anglicans were allowed to take degrees for the first time, Communion having been a condition until then. A similar pattern existed in the United States, where each university was associated with a different church: Yale and Harvard with the Congregationalists, Princeton with Presbyterians, Columbia with Episcopalians. The increasingly narrow focus on what can be taught at these institutions is not new.

Similarly, politics has returned to its pre-modern role of religion. The internet has often been compared to the printing press, and when printing was introduced it didn’t lead to a world of contemplative philosophy; books of high-minded inquiry were vastly outsold by tracts about evil witches and heretics.

The word “medieval” is almost always pejorative but the post-printing early modern period was the golden age of religious hatred and torture; the major witch hunts occurred in an age of rising literacy, because what people wanted to read about was a lot of the time complete garbage. Likewise, with the internet, and in particular the iPhone, which has unleashed the fires of faith again, helping spread half-truths and creating a new caste of firebrand preachers (or, as they used to be called, journalists).

…

English politics from the 16th to the 19th century was “a branch of theology” in Robert Tombs’s words; Anglicans and rural landowners formed the Conservative Party, and Nonconformists and the merchant elite the core of the Liberal Party. It was only with industrialisation that political focus turned to class and economics, but the identity-based conflict between Conservatives and Labour in the 2020s seems closer to the division of Tories and Whigs than to the political split of 50 years ago; it’s about worldview and identity rather than economic status.

Post-modern politics have also shaped pre-modern attitudes to class. In medieval society the poor were despised, and numerous words stem from names for the lower orders, among them ignoble, churlish, villain and boor (in contrast “generous” comes from generosus, and “gentle” from gentilis, terms for the aristocracy). Medieval poems and fables depict peasant as credulous, greedy and insolent — and when they get punched, as they inevitably do, they deserve it.

Compare this to the evolution of comedy in the post-industrial west, where the butt of the joke is the rube from the small town, laughed at for being out of touch with modern political sensibilities. The most recent Borat film epitomises this form of modern comedy that, while meticulously avoiding any offence towards the sacred ideas of the elite, relentlessly humiliates the churls.

The third estate are mocked for still clinging to that other outmoded modern idea, the nation-state. Nation-states rose with the technology of the modern day — printing, the telegraph and railways — and they have been undone by the technology of the post-modern era. A liberal in England now has more in common with a liberal in Germany than with his conservative neighbour, in a way that was not possible before the internet.

Nations were semi-imagined communities, and what follows is a return to the norm — tribalism, on a micro scale, but tribalism nonetheless, whether along racial, religious or most likely political-sectarian tribes. Indeed, in some ways we’re seeing a return to empire.

…

The middle-class age meant the triumph of bourgeoise values and the decline of the middle class has led to their downfall, widely despised and mocked by believers in the higher-status bohemian attitudes. Now the age of the average man is over, and the age of the global aristocrat has arrived.

[rr-envr1301]

Activity 4- US Environmental History and Major Regulations

During the days of early settlement, America had no sense of environmental responsibility and no real knowledge about resource management. It was a time of extensive use, “when one stand of trees was consumed for housing or fuel, another was nearby”(Theis, T & Tomkin, J 2018,pg 16). These colonists did not know how their actions affected their environment,nor did they truly care. It was not a time when people cared about preserving limited resources, if they needed to they would simply move to a new location where they had access to a fresh supply. Only once America’s new population started to grow did anyone pay mind to the effect they had on their environment. We can call this time the period of the American conservation movement.The new focus on the impact of the environment was primarily focused on farming, but soon grew out to include concerns about timbering,mining and human outbreak. Once there was enough focus, or need for it, the government created institutions to promote better awareness of the land and its resources. Many individuals such as Alice Hamilton (industrial hygiene),Eugene Hilgard (agricultural science), and John Wesley Powell (water rights), led the forefront for environmental science studies and development. These studies allowed for more in depth knowledge and growth, which helped create the government acts such as The U.S forest service and the National Park service.

During the Transcendental Movement there was a new awareness of nature, not only for it’s resources but for the natural beauty of it as well. This new view on nature helped push forward the movement for conservation. We can see this new view of nature through the acknowledged leader of the transcendental movement,Ralph Waldo Emerson. In a passage from his seminal essay we can get a glimpse of how nature was appreciated during the transcendental times, “ In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature”(Emerson, 1836 (p. 26). This passage reflects the new endearment for nature, he refers to it as a “tranquil landscape” not only in a physical meaning but as a way to explain man’s mind and feelings. The appreciation of nature and beauty allowed for a softer society, one with finer values than material items. These were bustling times so it is not unfair to think of nature as an escape from the building cities. “Within it can be found not only a new appreciation of nature, but also the liberation of the human mind from convention and formalism(Theis, T & Tomkin, J 2018, pg 21). Though transcendental movement formally dissolved the ideology still remained, paving the way for environmental public policy. Emerson’s writings inspired many people but one who made an impact on conservation than John Muir. John Muir was sought out by president Roosevelt as a guide to the Yosemite area. Roosevelt became fascinated with the beauty of nature, he is widely known for being a conservationist legacy. Roosevelt created many national nature parks where the land and the animals within could live with protection, prohibiting any building,timbering and the like within the area. 

Both during, and after the events of WWII America’s conservation motivated decline. The air was filled with pollution from factories producing means for our military, the streets were filled with trash and our water filled with debris. During this time,though there were many environmental regulations; waste management was not a main concern. Factories could dump their filth into water sources and their smoke would pollute the air. Years after WWII society slowly started to take environmental action once more.A concerned marine biologist Rachel Carson wrote about her concerns with pesticides and their effect on humans,animals and the environment in her publication; Silent Spring. Just eight years after Silent Spring, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  was established, along with the creation of Earth Day. In the same year the National Environmental Policy Act came into terms,this act would oversee the standards of living, waste management and other conservation actions in order to protect the future generations. With this the thought of sustainability came to people’s minds. It took many forms;public health,water quality,pollution,obesity,social capital. If there were clean and sustainable options for the people, how much would they cost and how accessible would they be? Of course it would be better to produce more reusable bottles than single use(an sustainable/eco friendly example), but the price would be more expensive to civilians and factories alike. During these times sustainability was a battle of give and take, nothing could be absolutely perfect.

In modern days such as 2020, we can still see some of these struggles. Politicians always have to include some sort of plan for environmental policy. Where President Roosevelt excelled, President Trump has had some issues. With the country's population at a ripe 328 million people, there is extreme concern for our emission and pollution rates. Of course we have far more knowledge and means than those before us, but is there such a motivation for our country to fix it’s environmental errors? 

Source; Theis, T., & Tomkin, J. (Eds). (2018). Sustainability: A comprehensive foundation chapters 2 and 7.4

[sciencespies]

First Soft-Shelled Dinosaur Egg Fossils Found

https://sciencespies.com/news/first-soft-shelled-dinosaur-egg-fossils-found/

First Soft-Shelled Dinosaur Egg Fossils Found

Two studies published this week in the journal Nature are upending paleontologists’ understanding of ancient reptile reproduction, reports Lucas Joel for the New York Times.

One study found evidence that some of the earliest dinosaurs laid soft-shelled eggs, and not eggs with hard shells as was previously thought. The second discovery is another soft-shelled egg that researchers have attributed to a kind of giant marine reptile called a mosasaur. The giant, nearly foot-long egg suggests mosasaurs didn’t give live birth as researchers once assumed, but instead laid leathery-shelled eggs like their closest living relatives monitor lizards and snakes.

The new evidence that some dinosaurs and their extinct reptilian contemporaries laid eggs without hard shells helps explain the rarity of eggs in the first half of the fossil record, according to the Times. Soft shells tend to rot away quickly, which would have made it less likely for them to fossilize. Both finds may have implications for the reproductive evolution of dinosaurs and ancient reptiles.

Chilean paleontologists found “The Thing” in Antarctica in 2011. It was a fossil the size of a football that had a crinkled exterior that made it look deflated. The researchers who had collected The Thing couldn’t tell what it was, reports Nell Greenfieldboyce of NPR. But when paleontologist Julia Clarke of the University of Texas at Austin saw its rumpled surface, she knew just what she was looking at.

A side view of the fossil of the giant soft-shelled egg found in Antarctica.

(Legendre et al. 2020)

It was a giant, soft-shelled egg, and it was also 66 million years old, the researchers report this week in Nature. No fossilized embryo or hatchling was available to positively identify what creature produced it. The researchers arrived at their suggestion that it came from a mosasaur based on the fossil egg’s size, shape and the fact that mosasaur remains were found nearby. The team estimates the mosasaur that laid the egg was more than 20 feet long, without including its tail, according to a statement from the University of Texas at Austin (UTA).

The find represents the first fossil egg ever found in Antarctica, the largest known soft-shelled egg and the second largest egg ever known to have existed, according to the UTA statement. The massive size of the egg also challenges assumptions about how big eggs with soft shells can get before collapsing, Lucas Legendre, a paleontologist at UTA and the study’s lead author, tells the Times.

An artist’s interpretation of a baby mosasaur emerging from an egg in ancient Antarctic waters.

(Francisco Hueichaleo)

Paleontologists don’t know for sure the egg came from a mosasaur. And in light of the other newly published paper documenting soft-shelled eggs in dinosaurs for the first time, the intriguing possibility exists that the giant ovum was produced by a dinosaur and somehow washed out to sea.

The first dinosaur eggs were found in the 1800s. Paleontologists went on to find communal nests and evidence of brooding that made dinosaur parents seem much like the creatures that are some of their closest living relatives: modern birds, write archaeologists Johan Lindreg of Lund University and Benjamin Kear of Uppsala University in a commentary published along with the new research.

As our understanding of dinosaur eggs deepened, so did certain inconsistencies. Most of the dino-eggs paleontologists uncovered were from the Cretaceous—which lasted from 66 million to 145 million years ago—leaving a more than 100-million-year gap in the fossil record during the Triassic and Jurassic periods, according to the commentary. The bulk of the eggs also came from a suspiciously small number of dinosaur groups.

“Over the last 20 years, we’ve found dinosaur eggs around the world. But for the most part, they only represent three groups—theropod dinosaurs, which includes modern birds, advanced hadrosaurs like the duck-bill dinosaurs, and advanced sauropods, the long-necked dinosaurs,” says Mark Norell, paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History and lead author of the study, in the statement from the museum. “At the same time, we’ve found thousands of skeletal remains of ceratopsian dinosaurs, but almost none of their eggs. So why weren’t their eggs preserved? My guess—and what we ended up proving through this study—is that they were soft-shelled.”

Protoceratops eggs found in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert.

(M. Ellison/American Museum of Natural History)

The research that confirmed Norell’s hunch describes eggs from two different species of plant eating dinosaurs, per NPR. The twin finds come from Protoceratops, a sheep-sized relative of the more famous Triceratops that lived between 71 million and 145 million years ago, and Mussaurus, a long-necked dinosaur about 20 feet long that lived between 208.5 million and 227 million years ago, per the museum’s statement.

The Protoceratops fossil was a clutch of embryos found in Mongolia in the 90s, reports Michael Greshko of National Geographic. The embryos were all early enough in their development that the absence of hard egg shells from the fossil was conspicuous. Similarly, expeditions in 2012 and 2013 to Argentina unearthed a group of Mussaurus embryos that had no sign of calcified eggshells nearby, according to National Geographic.

The recognition that the fossils contained the remnants of soft-shelled eggs came from chemical analysis prompted by strange haloes surrounding the embryos, according to the Times. Molecular paleobiologist Jasmina Wiemann of Yale University compared the chemical composition of these haloes surrounding the fossil embryos to that of modern hard and soft-shelled eggs and found the chemical fingerprint of the fossils matched the eggs with soft shells, she tells the Times.

Finding out that some dinosaur groups laid soft-shelled eggs also explains puzzling differences that paleontologists have noted in the surfaces of previously discovered hard-shelled eggs, write Lindreg Kear in their commentary. Instead, Norell and his colleagues suggest that hard-shelled eggs evolved at least three times in separate lineages.

“The dinosaur calcified egg is something that is not ancestral, that is not sort of a primitive feature of all dinosaurs,” Wiemann tells NPR.

The soft-shell revelation also suggests that many dinosaurs buried their eggs like some modern reptiles, since soft shells lose moisture quickly and couldn’t withstand the weight of a brooding parent.

“The idea that the ancestral dinosaur laid soft-shelled eggs like a turtle is a bold hypothesis, but I like it,” Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the study, tells the Times. “It’s a stunning revelation—and it’s remarkable to think of these giant dinosaurs, larger than buses and in some cases airplanes, starting out as little pipsqueaks tearing their way out of a soft egg.”

#News

[topfygad]

Cheap City Breaks Best Affordable European Destinations 2020

Do you want to travel to Europe? Are you under a small budget? The Gods of travel took care of that already. There are plenty of cheap city breaks in Europe in different affordable European destinations you can choose from.

Don’t break the bank but get the very best in spectacular views, nightlife, history, sightseeing, great beaches, people, alternative activities like a yoga retreat in Europe, or some of the best destinations for Christmas.

Read this for the top 10 safest countries in the world today, and this one for cheap travel destinations in Europe.

Are you are a student who wants to travel? Then this post is for you.

Affordable European Destinations 2020

Cheap European Breaks in Prague, Czech Republic

Porto, Affordable City in Portugal

Cheap City Breaks in Athens, Greece

City Trip to Valencia, Spain

Affordable City Break in Budapest, Hungary

Affordable City Break in Lisbon, Portugal

Istanbul, Turkey, Affordable European Destination

Cheap City Escape in Brussels, Belgium

Cheap City Break in Florence, Italy

Best City Break in Madrid, Spain

Best Cheap Trip to St. Petersburg, Russia

Cheap European Vacations in Rome, Italy

Cheap City Break in Corfu, Greece

Berlin, Germany Cheap Holiday Destination

Seville, Spain Cheap European City

Munich, Germany Cheap Holidays in Europe

Summary of Affordable European Destinations

Affordable European Destinations 2020

There is a secret list of affordable European destinations that frequent travelers know.

Countries and cities included in this list are considered a pivot point for your travel experience. Traveling through these cities gets you acquainted with the essence of Old Europe and its history.

We are here to share these secrets for the best cheap city breaks with you.

Cheap European Breaks in Prague, Czech Republic

Right in the heart of Europe, this spectacular city hides lots of secrets, even a medieval astronomical clock that seems to come from a fiction novel. Read a fascinating post for three days in Prague Itinerary.

What are the best things to do in Prague?

Old Town Square (Staromestské námestí)

Charles Bridge (Karluv most)

Prague Castle

St. Vitus Cathedral (Chrám svatého Víta)

Jewish Quarter (Josefov)

Dancing House

Prague Astronomical Clock

National Theatre (Národní Divadlo)

St. Nicholas Church (Chrám svatého Mikuláse)

When to go to Prague?

To avoid large crowds, better go to Prague in spring and early fall (March-May) when the weather is mild. Avoid the holiday seasons (Christmas, Easter).

During May there is a range of important events taking place too: the Prague Marathon, Czech Beer Festival, Prague Food Festival, Prague International Music Festival.

Prague is fantastic among all European Destinations.

Check accommodation and guided tours/tickets/passes options for Prague.

Porto, Affordable City in Portugal

A stunning coastal city with great architecture, history, food, and museums (museums are free to enter on Sundays). The city hosts the UNESCO World Heritage Ribeira District.

What are the best things to do in Porto?

Dom Luís I Bridge

Sé do Porto (Porto Cathedral)

Jardins do Palácio de Cristal (Crystal Palace Gardens)

Avenida dos Aliados (Avenue of the Allies)

Estação de São Bento (São Bento Railway Station)

Mercado do Bolhão (Bolhão Market)

Porto’s fantastic beaches

Livraria Lello & Irmão (Lello Bookstore)

Igreja de São Francisco (Church of Saint Francis)

Port Wine Tastings & Tours

Palácio da Bolsa (Stock Exchange Palace)

Fundação de Serralves (Serralves Foundation Complex)

Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis (National Museum Soares dos Reis)

Dragão Stadium

When to go to Porto?

From May to September the weather is warm and sunny. Some significant events happening during that time are Optimus Primavera Sound, Serralves em Festa, Festa de São João, Regata dos Rabelos, Festival Mares Vivas.

Porto is one of the best summer European destinations.

Read our post for Porto.

Here are your options for hotels and guided tours/tickets/passes.

Cheap City Breaks in Athens, Greece

There are plenty of things to do in Athens, despite Parthenon and Acropolis. Many prefer this city for two days itinerary but when you read posts like this one, this and this (all Athens section) you will understand that it is for much more.

Due to its geographical location and weather conditions, it is ideal for 10 out of 12 months.

What are the best things to do in Athens?

In short? Read this long post for Athens and things to do if you want more inspiration this post for 40 things to do in Greece and 14-day trips from Athens. You will thank us.

All parks in Athens are free to enter and churches too. Free admission museums are:

The Museum of the History of Greek Costume

The Philatelic and Postal Museum

Railway Museum of Athens

Theatrical Museum of Greece

Natural History Museum of Maroussi

Athens University History Museum

Museum of Greek Folk Instruments

Centre of Folk Art and Tradition

Hellenic Children’s Museum

Free admission holidays

6th of March – Memory of Melina Mercouri

18th of April – International Monument Day

18th of May International Museum Day

5th of June World Environment Day

European Days of Cultural Heritage (The last weekend of September)

27th of September – International Tourism Day

When for Athens?

It’s in Greece! If you avoid December and January, then all other months are fantastic to go to Athens. Even in wintertime, there are ski resorts in less than 2 hours distance from Athens (two in Peloponnese and one in Parnassos mountain). There are options for hiking, all museums are open, and food remains excellent all year long.

Check here for accommodation and available guided tours.

Athens is one of the most fabulous European destinations, as it is a pivot point for the Greek islands.

City Trip to Valencia, Spain

Affordable and easy to reach with a high-speed train from Barcelona or Madrid. A coastal city, vibrant with history and museums. It is famous for its oranges too, so taste some while there.

What are the best things to do in Valencia?

Central Market (Mercado Central)

Plaza Ayuntamiento

Cathedral (Seu)

Fine Art Museum of Valencia (Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia)

Instituto Valencia d’Arte Modern (IVAM)

Albufera Nature Park (Parque Natural de la Albufera)

La Lonja de la Seda

Valencia Beaches

Bioparc Valencia

City of the Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias)

When it is great to go to Valencia?

April to May is best, though there are plenty of visiting in the wintertime. Keep in mind that museums operate under short ours in the winter. Critical events in that period are The Superbike World Championship, Fiesta de San Vicente Ferrer, Holy Week, Festival of Our Lady of the Forsaken.

Check staying prices and guided tours/tickets/passes options for Valencia.

Affordable City Break in Budapest, Hungary

An aspect of the castle from afar

The city is famous for its food and its baroque, neoclassical and art nouveau architecture. Budapest dates back to the Stone Age and comes with great food options!

What are the best things to do in Budapest?

Fisherman’s Bastion (Halászbástya)

Danube River

Castle Hill (Várhegy)

Széchenyi Chain Bridge (Széchenyi Lánchíd)

Heroes’ Square (Hosök Tere)

St. Stephen’s Basilica (Svent István Bazilika)

Buda Castle (Budai vár)

Matthias Church (Mátyás-Templom)

Dohány Street Synagogue (Dohány Utcai Zsinagóga)

Gellért Hill (Gellért-Hegy)

Hungarian State Opera House (Magyar Állami Operaház)

Hungarian Parliament (Országház)

House of Terror Museum (Terror Háza Múzeum)

Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum (Sziklakórház Atombunker Múzeum)

Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden

Legenda Sightseeing Boats

Thermal Baths

When is it fantastic to be in Budapest?

March to May and September to November is best. That is if you want to avoid huge crowds of tourists (in summertime). The weather is generally mild. Special events happening during these months are:

March to May: Budapest Dance Festival, Macaron Day, Budapest Spring Festival, Budapest100, Rosalia Festival, OTP Bank Gourmet Festival, Budapest Beer Week.

September to November: Jewish Cultural Festival, Budapest Wine Festival, Sweet Days Chocolate, and Candy Festival, Oktoberfest Budapest, Design Week Budapest, Budapest Christmas Markets.

Here is Budapest accommodation options & tours.

Affordable City Break in Lisbon, Portugal

Belem Tower

The city offers at a fraction of the cost whatever you expect to find in a European city. This is another city that emits mystery from Old-World, despite the growth of the modern building. Read this insider’s guide for things to do in Lisbon.

What are the best things to do in Lisbon?

Alfama

Belem

Sintra

Torre de Belem and Monument to the Discoveries

Cascais

Feira da Ladra

Santa Justa Elevator (Elevador de Santa Justa)

St. George’s Castle (Castelo de Sao Jorge)

National Tile Museum (Museu Nacional do Azulejo)

Gulbenkian Museum (Museu Calouste Gulbenkian)

Monastery of St Jerome

Oceanarium (Oceanario de Lisboa)

Taste of Lisboa Food Tours

Lisbon By Boat

Tram 28

When is it best to visit Lisbon?

March to May and September to October is ideal, not excluding other months, too, of course. From March to early June, these events take place: Lisbon Half Marathon, Lisbon Fish & Flavours, Music Days in Belem, IndieLisboa, Festival de Sintra, Out Jazz Festival. On the other hand, the MOTEL X – Lisbon International Film Festival happens in September, while the Out Jazz Festival continues too (May to September).

Read our posts for Lisbon and Lisbon food, Cascais, Sintra, Fatima. There are plenty of day trips from Lisbon to consider.

Book your accommodation early and allow time for guided tours.

Lisbon and the nearby cities make it another great spot among all European destinations.

Istanbul, Turkey, Affordable European Destination

A jewel of the Orient. A city of thousands of secrets and legends, with different locations that drive your mind to thousands of mystical stories.

Herbs & spices, Bosporus, belly dancing, fantastic architecture, and all kinds of landmarks. Istanbul will fill your days with many things while acting as a pivot point for many nearby cities.

It is famous for Agia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, but that is just a fraction of the things to see and do. Read the post from our trip there. For what to eat in Istanbul, read this.

What are the best things to do in Istanbul?

Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii)

Grand Bazaar (Kapaliçarsi)

Süleymaniye Mosque (Süleymaniye Camii)

Taksim Square

Ortaköy

Hagia Sophia Museum (Ayasofya Müzesi)

Istanbul Archaeological Museums (Istanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri)

Topkapi Palace Museum (Topkapi Sarayi Müzesi)

Istanbul Modern Art Museum

Chora Museum (Kariye Müzesi)

Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici)

Dolmanbahçe Palace

Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi)

When it is amazing to visit Istanbul?

Best go there from September to November and from March to May. In the first period, you will have the opportunity to attend these too: Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul International Puppet Festival, Akbank Jazz Festival, Istanbul Theatre Festival.

In the March to May period, these things happen at the Istanbul Film Festival, Istanbul Music Festival.

For hotels in Istanbul, check these options as well as for guided tours.

Cheap City Escape in Brussels, Belgium

If you crave for some delicious chocolate, then you can visit Brussels even for one day. Take the train from Paris or Amsterdam and savor all these from kiosks you will find in all streets.

Restaurants will be pricey, so no need to pay more for chocolate than needed. There are lots of museums and don’t forget that this is a multicultural & multilingual country.

People here speak Dutch, French & English, of course.

What are the best things to do in Brussels?

Manneken Pis

Grand-Place

St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral

Royal Museum of the Army and Military History

Palais de Justice

Mini-Europe

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

Musical Instruments Museum

Atomium

Horta Museum

Belgian Comic Strip Center

Cantillon Brewery

When is it nice to be in Brussels?

March to May and September to October is best. In the first case, because it is Springtime while in the second case, prices drop significantly, while the weather stays mild enough.

Check Brussels accommodation prices. Here are the tour options.

Cheap City Break in Florence, Italy

Have we been to Florence, Italy? Yes, twice. The first one was as part of a road trip that involved crossing Europe to the UK driving at the North.

The second one was as part of another road trip getting from the UK to Greece from the South part fo Europe!!! Read this excellent post for Florence (Firenze).

We have traveled to many cities in Italy (including Sicily island). Read the post for things to do in Sicily.

What are the best things to do in Florence?

Piazzale Michelangelo

Ponte Vecchio

Piazza della Signoria

Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore)

Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi)

Baptistry (Battistero)

Galleria dell’Accademia

Palazzo Pitti

Basilica di Santa Croce

Giotto’s Bell Tower (Campanile di Giotto)

Boboli Gardens (Giardino di Boboli)

When it is most nice to visit Florence?

Preferably from May to September. Lots of sunshine, but you need to search thoroughly for accommodation as in touristy places prices get high.

There is no need to stay in, such though as the city is easy to walk. You can quickly get into the historical center with public transportation.

Either way, you will walk all the historical center to see the things mentioned above.

Check this for staying in Florence and all the tickets & passes options.

Florence is one of the best cultural European destinations, that is seen in video games.

Best City Break in Madrid, Spain

There are so many plaza’s (Madrid is Spain’s largest city) that are free to the public. You can spend days just visiting each other.

However, Madrid is far more than that. Read our post for things to do in Madrid and check the list below too.

What are the best things to do in Madrid?

Plaza Mayor

Gateway of the Sun (Puerta del Sol)

Plaza de Cibeles

El Rastro Market

Temple of Debod

Retiro Park (Parque del Retiro)

Royal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real)

Prado Museum (Museo Nacional del Prado)

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Mercado San Miguel

Sorolla Museum

Bernabéu Stadium

Queen Sofia Arts Center

When is it excellent to visit Madrid?

The March to May and September to November rule holds for Madrid too. The weather temperature is the main reason for this. Summer in Madrid is scorching due to the city’s geographical location. In Autumn, you can attend the Autumn Festival.

Here are the Madrid lodging prices & tours.

Best Cheap Trip to St. Petersburg, Russia

Russia is a destination where you will get reasonable prices if you book early. Most people will visit Moscow, St. Petersburg, or both on a trip.

Moscow is great for New Year’s Eve, too, while St. Petersburg offers an entirely different experience.

What are the best things to do in St. Petersburg?

Hermitage Museum and the Winter Palace

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Grand Market Russia Interactive Museum

St. Isaac’s Cathedral

Summer Garden

Peterhof Palace & Garden

Russian Museum

Yusupov Palace

The Naval Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Kronstadt

Chapel of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg

Yelagin Island

When is it great to visit St. Petersburg?

Avoid winter. Better to visit from June to September. Hot events taking place are White Nights, International Festival of Choral Art, International Early Music Festival.

Winter is cheaper, but lots of activities are not happening, and cold in Russia is rather extreme.

Check the best accommodation options and guided tours/ticket/passes options for St. Petersburg.

Cheap European Vacations in Rome, Italy

The famous Vatican stairs: Bramante Staircase

The city of Rome is a living, walk-through museum. It is an unbelievable destination suitable for all seasons (not so good when rains fall but still beautiful).

We have been multiple times in Rome with kids or not. It is suitable for going without kids too. Prepare for lots of walking as a car is useless in the vast historical center which covers most of the city of Rome.

What are the best things to do in Rome?

Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)

Church of San Luigi Dei Francesi

Santa Maria Della Vittoria

Ancient Appian Way

Trastevere

Basilica di San Clemente

Piazza Navona

Gianicolo Hill

Campo de’ Fiori

Porta Portese

Spanish Steps

Musei Capitolini

St. Peter’s Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro)

Pantheon

Colosseum (Colosseo)

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

Roman Forum (Foro Romano)

Palatine Hill

Galleria Borghese

Gruppo Storico Romano Gladiator School

When is it wonderful to visit Rome?

Prices are lower from October to April. The weather is hot in summer, but Rome has free water fountains all over the city, and you will be amazed by the colors of the city with summer light.

You can find lots of affordable accommodations outside of the historical center, but it will still be close to it, so no worries. Better to go there with the sun than rain.

The cold will not be an issue with all the walking (if you plan for winter). Food is affordable if you avoid tourist restaurants.

Check here for where to stay in Rome and all tours with a guide and skip the line tickets.

Cheap City Break in Corfu, Greece

Corfu is a contradictory island, suitable for many different tastes. One of its sides/coasts has lots of beaches while the other one is rocky.

The best beaches will be revealed by the locals when they like you, so make sure they do. This post will be somewhat informative for you.

The islands hold the essence from the Venetian history, and you will notice that in the architecture of its capital.

What are the best things to do in Corfu?

All the beaches

Paleokastritsa Monastery (and beach)

Corfu Donkey Rescue

Church of Saint Spyridon

Corfu Museum of Asian Art

Achillion Palace & Museum

Palaio Frourio (Old Fortress)

Aqualand (lots of fun)

When is it superb to visit Corfu?

Summertime is the best season. In case you want to hit the lowest prices ever then visit Corfu from April to May and September to November.

Corfu is in the West part of Greece, and you can encounter lots of rain during those times. In case you can be there in Orthodox Easter time, you will see lots of local customs happening.

Here is where to stay in Corfu and guided tours.

Berlin, Germany Cheap Holiday Destination

Berlin is a somewhat controversial city with extreme nightlife. If you are after nightlife, then it won’t be very cheap. Many other things come at really affordable prices.

Here is a post with ideas for three days in Berlin and another one for five days in Germany.

What are the best things to do in Berlin?

Brandenburg Gate

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Potsdamer Platz

Tiergarten

The topography of Terror

East Side (Wall) Gallery

Reichstag

Museum Island

Pergamonmuseum

Zoologischer Garten Berlin

Checkpoint Charlie

TV Tower

Charlottenburg Palace

When is it thrilling to visit Berlin?

From May to September, you can additionally attend these events: Formula E ePrix Championship, Carnival of Cultures, Fete de la Musique, Berlin Fashion Week, Lesbian and Gay City Festival, International Berlin Beer Festival, Berlin Marathon.

Berlin is at the center of Germany but also in the North of Europe so that any other months will be rather cold.

Find here the Berlin lodging options & tickets for excellent tours and landmarks.

Seville, Spain Cheap European City

With hotels moving around the USD100 per night, this city is affordable too. There are hostels and such if you want to lower the accommodation fees.

There are lots of parks, promenade locations, museums, bull-fights, and tasty food. See more great places to visit in Spain.

What are the best things to do in Seville?

La Carbonerí

Guadalquivir River Cruise

Metropol Parasol

Museum of Fine Arts

Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza

Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium

Torre del Oro

Isla Mágica

When it is great to visit Seville?

Better to visit from March to May due to mild temperatures. The famous events of Semana Santa and Feria de Abril, happen in these months.

Where to stay in Seville? Check here. What do in Seville? Click here.

Munich, Germany Cheap Holidays in Europe

Munich maybe not the first destination that comes in your mind when you plan to visit Europe, but it is a great one.

You can read our experiences in Munich from here, here and here. By the way, beers and food are fantastic.

What are the best things to do in Munich?

English Garden

Church of Our Lady

Viktualienmarkt

Nymphenburg Palace Gardens

Biergarten am Chinesischen Turm

St. Michael’s Church

Marienplatz

St. Peter’s Church

Deutsches Museum

Residenz Royal Palace

Old Picture Gallery

Augustiner-Keller

Bayerische Staatsoper Opera House

Nymphenburg Palace Museum

Modern Picture Gallery

When is it amazing to visit Munich?

March to May is best, though the weather may get a bit chilly. Things are happening in the summertime, but there are lots of crowds too.

Check for accommodation in Munich and all the tours & passes

Summary of Affordable European Destinations

As you see, there are lots and lots of places to visit. This list will expand more in the following days, so make sure you subscribe to it!

Traveling is fun, and budget or/and affordable traveling is preferred by many.

Have fun!

from Cheapr Travels https://ift.tt/3evzYQA via IFTTT

[anamedblog]

The Rise of the Ottomans in Istanbul

By Mark Huggins, ANAMED PhD Fellow (2019–2020)

My entry on the ANAMED blog takes a look at the new Netflix docudrama: Rise of Empires—Ottoman, a second effort following on its last docudrama on czar Nicholas II Romanov of Russia (reviews of that series were mixed; the Guardian wasn’t kind (https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jul/11/the-last-czars-netflix-historical-drama-that-the-whole-of-russia-is-laughing-at), but the Daily Beast raved (https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-last-czars-inside-netflixs-stunning-russian-answer-to-the-crown).

All 6 episodes of Ottoman were made available for streaming on Netflix this past Friday, 24 January. The reviews I’ve found published so far have been positive ( https://www.thereviewgeek.com/riseofempires-ottoman-s1review/, https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/01/24/rise-of-empires-ottoman-netflix-narrator-charles-dance-actor/, https://www.thecinemaholic.com/rise-of-empires-ottoman-netflix/, https://readysteadycut.com/2020/01/24/rise-of-empires-ottoman-netflix-review/) and at least one ANAMED fellow was watching the series yesterday and seemed to be thoroughly entertained. Having watched the episodes myself, and being an enthusiast of period pieces generally, my opinion of the series is also positive overall. Each 45-minute episode addresses a particular theme/step in the process of Sultan Mehmed II’s (Fatih Sultan Mehmed) eventual capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. The series draws on both modern accounts and ancient, both Byzantine and Ottoman. The format is further supplemented by breaks in the historical dramatization to receive background information and explanations from scholars on the period.

Being a fellow at ANAMED this year has decisively influenced the way I viewed this series because over the last few months I have had the opportunity to explore this living treasure chest of past civilizations, and to the series’ credit, it is filmed on site here in Istanbul (though, of course, special effects and constructed sets are also employed). Generally, I’ve been fortunate; since I have studied in nearby Thessaloniki, I managed to visit Istanbul a few times before coming to ANAMED. Nevertheless, I never even scratched the surface compared to what I’ve experienced and learned now (and I certainly haven’t even scratched the surface this time, either, in relation to what the city has to offer). That being said, my time here has afforded me the opportunity to visit some of the monuments and sites mentioned in the series—of course, with the knowledgeable and pleasant company of other fellows! For example, episode 1 takes a look at Mehmed II’s bold construction (in 4 months!) of Rumelihisarı. I visited the site last October, currently located just north of the scenic Bebek neighborhood on the European side of the Bosphorus. Mehmed II’s construction of the fortress sent a message to Constantinople that he was coming.

image credits: Stavroula Valtadorou 

This by itself wasn’t enough to necessarily unnerve either Constantine XI, the reigning Byzantine emperor at the time (and the last one, of course), or any of his predecessors. As the series repeatedly notes, many armies had come and gone, falling either dead or else impotent at the impenetrable fifth-century Theodosian Walls. It had been common knowledge among Byzantine rulers for centuries that, when all else failed, Constantinople would withstand any possible attack. Hold the city and you’re emperor. This was what Mehmed II’s father, Murad II, had learned the hard way back in 1421. The Byzantines didn’t need superior forces (which was good because they hadn’t had any for a long time); their diplomacy was enough as long as the walls held, and a well-timed revolt or challenge to the throne was usually enough to make massive armies disappear. Murad II had better luck in Thessaloniki, which he captured in 1430. He immediately proceeded to convert the Panagia Acheiropoietos Church (built in late 5th century) into a mosque, and his seal commemorating his victory and thanking Allah can still be seen in the now functioning church to this day.

image credit: https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/510947520199763166/?d=t&mt=login 

The series does a good job of explaining Mehmed II’s motivation in taking Constantinople, as well as the factions within his own Court that sought to undermine him. Since his father, Murad II had failed, Mehmed II was determined to succeed. In order to do so, though, he needed superior technology, and this is precisely what he procured in the form of the legendary “basilica” canons, which did eventually manage to breach Constantinople’s famed defenses. In Edirne, capital of the Ottoman Empire at the time, a monument commemorates Mehmed II’s victory, complete with a replica of some of his cannon.

image credits: ANAMED PhD fellows Jeffrey Haines and Athanasios Sotiriou

The story that Rise of Empires—Ottoman tells is full of detail and vivid imagery, making it accessible to anyone (even Byzantinists (!), who are usually trained to stop thinking of anything past 1453…) All in all, this mini-series is enjoyable, engaging and, if you’re an ANAMED fellow, yet another reminder to get out there and explore this incredible city and country that is full to the brim with historical treasures everywhere you look. My stay at ANAMED has made this experience come alive for me like never before, interacting with both the place and the people, especially benefiting from the extensive knowledge of other fellows. The series by no means replaces the in-person, hands-on experience of the city, but for anyone not yet fortunate enough to have been here, perhaps it will provide the impetus you need to make the effort to visit and explore. I highly recommend the series, because, if for nothing else, it reminds us fellows of what we enjoy every day throughout these 9 months and may serve as an initiation for others to come and experience the same one day.

I am grateful to all the fellows who helped with this post by providing pictures and/or background information to supplement my (embarrassingly almost non-existent) knowledge of the Ottoman Empire: Betül Kaya, Ibrahim Mansour, Jeffrey Haines, Athanasios Sotiriou, and Stavroula Valtadorou (my fellow!).

[blueweave]

Global Smart Ticketing Market Getting on to the Magnanimous Mode at USD 15.0 billion in 2027

A recent study conducted by the strategic consulting and market research firm; BlueWeave Consulting revealed that the global smart ticketing market was worth USD 6.57 billion in the year 2020. The study reveals that the market is projected to grow at the CAGR of 12.4% during 2021-2027 (forecast period), earning revenue of around USD 15.0 billion by the end of 2027. The smart ticketing market is gaining momentum due to the integration of advanced technologies such as contactless cards, and technology-enabled transit systems in smart ticketing systems. The increased use of cashless transactions by smart ticketing has provided a diverse payment option to the customers, leading to increased customer adoption of this market.

Additionally, the growth of the global smart ticketing market can be attributed to the increasing demand for smart ticketing industries from various industries, such as tourism, entertainment, and sports. The big spike in the intelligent transportation industry is also driving the growth of the smart ticketing market worldwide. For example, Brescia Mobilità, which oversees public transportation in Brescia and the surrounding regions, is collaborating with services and solutions provider Conduent Transportation to implement a contactless payment platform on its bus fleet. The system will be operational on all 220 buses that serve the Italian city and 14 nearby municipalities. Brescia Mobilità is an incredible example of how public transportation networks are rapidly modernizing by using technology to provide smooth, user-centric services that improve the transit experience.

However, the high cost of set-ups, data security, and the need for a centralized network for smart ticketing services are some of the roadblocks to the market's growth. To overcome the security issues, key players in the smart ticketing market are incorporating blockchain technology, digital sensors, and artificial intelligence (AI) into smart ticketing services.

Technological advancements Driving the Smart Technology Market Worldwide

Integration of smart technologies in the smart ticketing market has diversified the range of services it provides to the consumers. Technologies such as contactless smart cards, virtual reality (VR), maps, wearable devices, smartphones, and AI are being increasingly incorporated into smart ticketing. Rising smart technology integration has resulted in substantial economic growth for countries such as India, Singapore, China, and the UAE. Additionally, bolstering the implementation of smart ticketing systems stimulates the transportation industry, which in turn benefits the tourism industries of Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Increasing demand for smart ticketing systems Propelling Market Growth

Smart ticketing services are utilized in a variety of industries, including sports, entertainment, transport, parking, healthcare, and the banking, financial services & insurance sector (BFSI).  These services are being preferred in various avenues due to the easy management of data transactions and the convenience of cashless transactions. Among all, the transport industry has the greatest demand for smart ticketing. It provides the consumers with the option of advanced booking, secure data collection, time reduction, and a range of payment options. The majority of sports events that are being organized around the globe utilize smart ticketing on their booking platforms. Technologies such as QR code, NFC, RFID, and others have upgraded the services and increased their application in many industries, thereby propelling the growth of the Global Smart Ticketing Market.

The E-ticket segment holds  the largest share of the Smart Ticketing Market

Based on product type, the smart ticketing market has been categorized into the ticket machine, e-ticket, e-kiosk, request tracker, and others. Among these, the e-ticket segment holds the largest market share. This can be attributed to the widespread use of e-tickets in sports events, transit systems, and movie ticket bookings. The security provided by e-tickets over paper tickets is their unique selling point. Additionally, increased use of smartphones, availability of services on mobile apps, and ease of cashless transactions have increased the demand for the e-ticket segment. However, the e-kiosk segment is also expected to grow during the forecast period.

Impact of COVID-19 on Smart Ticketing Market

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the transport industry across the globe. Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, there has been a major decline in transportation activities around the world due to travel restrictions imposed by the governments of different countries.  The sharp drop in ridership since the nationwide lockdowns has placed public transportation networks across the globe in severe financial jeopardy. Business growth has also been hampered due to the lack of investments by financially affected manufacturers and reduced government initiatives. However, smart ticketing is still the most preferred mode of billing/booking as it provides a contactless payment option.

Europe Leads the Smart Ticketing Market

The smart ticketing market is categorized into North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa, wherein Europe accounts for the largest share in the global smart ticketing market. Europe is the center of the world's most prestigious travel and sporting activities. Moreover, these two industries are major end-users for the smart ticketing market. The smart ticketing market in Europe is also thriving because of large sports events in Germany and increasing tourism in Paris (France) that utilizes the services of smart ticketing widely. These are the primary factors contributing to the growth of the smart ticketing market in this region.

However, the Asia-Pacific region is also likely to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. The region is expected to register a CAGR of 14% in the forecast period. Several emerging economies, such as India, are growing their efforts to promote the digitalization of money, which is driving the growth of the smart ticketing market. For example, the Indian government launched the Digital India Program to digitalize payment methods across the country. Such initiatives combined with the surge in the use of smartphones in this country have led the majority of the population to adopt smart ticketing services for ticket booking/billings and smart cards.

Smart Ticketing Market Competitive Landscape

The smart ticketing market is moderately fragmented and is witnessing the entry of new players with favorable government initiatives. The key players dominating the smart ticketing market are HID Global Corporation, Thales Digital Identity, and Security, NXP Semiconductors N.V., Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, Infineon Technologies AG, CPI Card Group Inc, Inside Secure, Xerox Corporation, Cubic Corporation, Atsuke, Cammax Limited, Conduent Inc., and other prominent players. In order to increase their customer base, players are investing in product developments and joint ventures. Aside from that, the market players are  competing by offering customers personalized services and integrated payment solutions.

Don’t miss the business opportunity of the global smart ticketing market. Consult our analysts to gain crucial insights and facilitate your business growth.

The in-depth analysis of the report provides information about growth potential, upcoming trends, and statistics of the global smart ticketing market. It also highlights the factors driving forecasts of total market size. The report promises to provide recent technology trends in the global smart ticketing market along with industry insights to help decision-makers make sound strategic decisions. Furthermore, the report also analyses the growth drivers, challenges, and competitive dynamics of the market.

About Us

BlueWeave Consulting provides all-inclusive Market Intelligence (MI) Solutions to businesses regarding various products and services online & offline. We offer comprehensive market research reports by analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data to boost up the performance of your business solution. BWC has built its reputation from the scratches by delivering quality inputs and nourishing long-lasting relationships with its clients. We are one of the promising digital MI solutions companies providing agile assistance to make your business endeavors successful.